David Tycho: STATION TO STATION

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David Tycho, "Station #1," 2016

acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"

Opening Reception: Friday, March 3, 7-9 pm The artist will be in attendance

STATION TO STATION

About a year ago, I inexplicably felt compelled to paint train tracks, stations, terminals, depots and other transport hubs. Then my mind got busy, and I began to question why. Perhaps it was because my studio is flanked by a rail yard, or because I’d spent countless hours in and around such places, in my daily life, in my travels and as a result of unfortunate summer employment when I was a student. Then again, maybe I was intrigued by the allegorical implications inherent in train tracks converging and vanishing on a horizon line, or by the pictorial allusions to the transitory nature of existence: always arriving or departing, and never in a state of permanence. And what about…

Shut up and paint, I told myself, my mantra when in doubt about the worthiness or significance of a particular subject matter.

Each work generally began with reference to a photo or memory, but then, as usual, intuitive aesthetic impulses took over. I recalled the words of Hans Hoffman who said, “Eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” Each painting consequently evolved into something not so much about a particular place, but represented, rather, more of an essence or archetype of such places, in varying degrees of abstraction.

There are countless interpretations for this series—and of course I have a few of my own—but I would never be so arrogant as to suggest what the viewer should see, feel or understand. It’s all up for discussion, and that is the enigmatic characteristic of art that has sustained my interest and passion for over 40 years. Have at it.

The exhibition title itself is a humble tribute to the late David Bowie, whose album and track of the same name haunted my thoughts during the painting of this series, as it has done in varying degrees since its release in 1976. To you, Mr. Bowie.

David Tycho

February, 2017