The first five paintings in this gallery are composed of 24" x 24" mahogany plywood panels which are mounted to a 1 3/4" sub frame. This composition consists of six 24" square panels. Arranging individuals panels in a group and creating a unifying composition which is carried by the individualistic nature of each panel appealed to me for several reasons. Formally, the arrangement of panels creates a grid-like sense of order which I enjoy as a point of departure into the multifarious realms of pictorial abstraction. Conceptually, I enjoy the autonomy/unity interplay of the panels operating as individual units which operate within a larger collective scheme. In general, and I think this is especially true of this painting, I view each panel as an intriguing and viable composition unto itself, yet each panel performs an integral function in the overall thrust of the entire work.

In this particular composition I was concerned with creating a continuous rhythmic design that dealt with space and time in a visually linear fashion. The linear compositional quality of this painting operates, by analogy, similar to the structure of a musical composition which also requires space and time in order to be experienced. The title Snap is a variation on the word "synapse" and alludes to the linkage of electronic impulses which build streams of random, or cohesive thought in the human brain.

The scale of this work (2' x 12') relates to the concept of space and time in that it is nearly impossible for the viewer to see all of the panels of the composition in total simultaneously. One is obliged to experience the passage of time required to engage the geometrically articulated linkage of the area of the image in order to experience the composition in full. Each panel is visually joined to its neighboring panel by repetitions of the half-circle arc element of the design which repeats continuously through the length of the work.

The process I utilized for developing the appearance of the panels consisted of: painting no fewer than three alternating layers of black and white latex paint on the bare wood, abrading the painted surface with a 4" wide electric belt sander which revealed the layers of alternating pigment within the scheme of the wood grain and sometimes down to the bare wood itself, applying the geometric half-circle arc pattern, painting the shapes of the pattern in alternating passages of black and white latex paint, and then in some cases returning to the panel with the belt sander. The end result is an integration of the panels in an autonomous/unified field of interplay wherein the formal elements of the work--even the visual allure of the wood of which the panels are constructed--all integrate with the concept of the work.