Provo artist’s work displayed in Gallery East
The expressive calligraphic mixed media work of Provo artist, Ike Bushman, will be displayed from March 7 – April 3 in College of Eastern Utah’s Gallery East in the northwest corner of the old SAC.
Bushman’s prints and paintings have an expressive calligraphic quality, reminiscent of the work of artists such as Cy Twombly, Robert Motherwell and Antoni Tapies.
The expressive calligraphic mixed media work of Provo artist, Ike Bushman, will be displayed from March 7 – April 3 in College of Eastern Utah’s Gallery East in the northwest corner of the old SAC.
Bushman’s prints and paintings have an expressive calligraphic quality, reminiscent of the work of artists such as Cy Twombly, Robert Motherwell and Antoni Tapies.
He credits his fascination with the tenuous relationship of science and magic as one of the sources of his inspiration. “The nebulous shapes and tactile line in his work are evocative of things we see in the natural and fabricated world, but also in another plane. The imagery seems to wed natural and mechanical constructs as the interplay of physics and the supernatural–the coming together of science and magik [1400 A.D. spelling for the word magic].
“Magik and the supernatural are phenomena which are not observable by normal senses and are beyond measurement. I use the alternate spelling of magic here because I want to avoid the modern idea of magic and illusion, and instead bring to mind the archaic idea of magik: the hermetic order, alchemy, and questions about belief and faith.
“In my work the language of science has a precise and seemingly rational quality that contrasts with the language of magik which is chaotic and full of gesture and drips. I am trying to bring these two languages together to pose questions about the nature and relationship between science and magik,” Bushman writes.
His prints, paintings, and wire assemblages are reflective of this effort to bring the rational and seemingly irrational realms together: “The circuitous path of making sculpture, drawing and printing, is integral to my process of creation.
“At each step I gain an insight into the next medium. I enjoy making art without an end goal in mind, but rather to acting and reacting to the image at each new step of the image making process. Learning new techniques was valuable, but more importantly I learned lessons about my own thought process and about the invaluable ideas of how science and magik interact,” he writes.
Bushman will present a gallery talk at a closing reception on Friday, April 3, at 7 p.m. The gallery is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Fridays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. The public is welcome. There is no admission charge.
