James Rowell - 'Sciency Pictures'

James Rowell

25 Jul 2019 to 4 Aug 2019

Manuka

In 1987 James Rowell graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the VCA, but got sick of being told that the piece of paper represented only a bachelor of apathy. He responded by beginning a series of works about science, which have only been brought to completion in the last couple of years.

Included in Sciency Paintings are a variety of works featuring electrical circuits, equipment used in empirical chemistry, biological displays and iron load stones that are used for investigating the properties of electricity. The strongest attribute of the pictures, aesthetically speaking, is the use of strong vibrant colours that have been achieved through the very careful and regulated use of tone, where tone is colour and colour is tone. Once again, Rowell has broken down the images into dots to give all the works something in common that is universal.

Image: James Rowell Pyrex Beaker 2018, acrylic on canvas