Painting
Josh Richards
Influenced by movements such as
Supports/Surfaces, Arte Povera, and Mono-Ha, my work is driven by process,
material, and experimentation. Some pieces test the physical limitations of
paint, some are the result of process, and others are the tools or remnants of
those processes.
My current work involves pouring paint onto found, discarded, and built surfaces, which provide a barrier for the liquid to solidify and sustain a form that references and reflects the tool used to create it. Although transformed with slight manipulations, the paint still exists as itself while also providing its own support, acting as an implied canvas. By using house paint, I am also subverting product intentionality and challenging the purpose or intended use of material. Rather than using the paint to cover the surface of a wall it becomes the object of observation, thereby elevating the status of the object and the way viewers perceive it. The works evoke both manufacturing and craft, while the materials used to construct these objects form an interdependence. The liquid paint once held in place by tape and wood becomes one, cured and removed from the surface with only the congealed object to consider.
My current work involves pouring paint onto found, discarded, and built surfaces, which provide a barrier for the liquid to solidify and sustain a form that references and reflects the tool used to create it. Although transformed with slight manipulations, the paint still exists as itself while also providing its own support, acting as an implied canvas. By using house paint, I am also subverting product intentionality and challenging the purpose or intended use of material. Rather than using the paint to cover the surface of a wall it becomes the object of observation, thereby elevating the status of the object and the way viewers perceive it. The works evoke both manufacturing and craft, while the materials used to construct these objects form an interdependence. The liquid paint once held in place by tape and wood becomes one, cured and removed from the surface with only the congealed object to consider.
