Steven Goring : Tumulus-Tumuli

The varied landscape and atmospheric light qualities of Vancouver Island have continually served as inspiration and are explored and portrayed in Steven Goring’s 7th solo exhibition with the Jennifer Kostuik Gallery.

Rock outcroppings, piles of rubble, and earthy mounds have prompted his current research of ‘tumulus’ or ‘tumuli’, the Latin word describing a burial mound. For the artist, man made mounds that naturally blend into the landscape have a silence that is mysterious. The theme of a constructed object creating a mystical abstract response intrigued him. Further reflection on the topic eventually led Goring to construct mounds in his landscape abstractions. Shapes blend together to create layered compositions with shimmering, undulating light, earthy hues, and exceptionally fine brushstroke detail.

I started painting the backgrounds and the mounds, and many times, the results would be partially rubbed away, and a new layer added. The paintings started to take on the idea of something hidden-something covered up….I have come to believe that human nature has a spirituality that is intuitive. - Steven Goring