Having worked in various media and modes for the past twenty years in the Bay Area, returning to drawing as my primary practice has unlocked a connection with my educational background. I earned degrees in both molecular and cell biology and art practice in addition to being raised by an organic chemist mother. The simplicity of line feels like the perfect tool for testing a hypothesis with each composition and through process based mark making, yield a conclusion. The results have the gratification of surprise, an organic display that feels revealed rather than predetermined. An experiment with artistic variables. The pieces remind me of spectroscopy and NMR readouts, of spending hours in my mother’s lab playing with chemistry model sets and dry ice. In a time with so much diverting visual noise, using simple hand drawn lines to build and discover complexity is a deeply grounding method for appreciating our natural world.
Ross Warren 