Artist’s Bio and Personal Statement

In the series Gardens of Silence by Number, which I started ten years ago, I used graphite on Magnani paper (for its softness) which allows me to engrave the surface using hard graphite 5H. I started by dividing the surface into multiple shapes then followed each edge of each shape as I drew over and over. It takes me thousands and thousands of lines to accomplish each work.

In my latest series Appearance, which I started seven years ago and also progresses by number, I used black ink on Mylar, layering over and over thousands of lines freehand with a small brush, with a constant and light movements of my hand, spreading the ink by lightly touching the Mylar’s surface line after line. With this process, I replicate and echo the myriad lines of communication in which we dwell today.

As the series of Appearance continued its progression (reaching the number 275) I used four basic elements of lines to divide the square— both strait lines and curved, but mostly curved. Instead of fully covering the square with lines; I left open blank spaces creating what appears as an abstraction of letters or ‘logos’.

Mylar is a non-absorbent material, and when the ink is applied over and over, this process builds up a tiny skin with different levels of thickness; the light is thus reflected between the grooves, rendering a subtle color effect. This “color effect” can change according to the naturel or artificial light and ink density.

In the series of square Plexiglas sculptures, my intention is to further develop the process I had already applied in my Appearance series (black ink on Mylar).

These three dimensional works reinforce the movement of the optic light effect, which can be perceived in multiples angles by rotating the piece or moving around it. Instead using brush and black ink, I wrapped each panel of Plexiglas with black nylon thread and attached the panels together to create “prismatic projectors”.

By changing a single detail (or very few) in a highly complex pattern, we discover that these small variations modify and alter each individual work and the way they will be “perceived.”

Patrick Carrara
Brooklyn, New York