Artist Statement              Werth Creation

I have long been interested in the mind: consciousness, perception, thinking, psychology, and the self. My ongoing study of these and related subjects informs much of my abstract painting. The titles of my paintings are clues to concepts that I find fascinating in the philosophy and science of mind.I describe my paintings as “Organized, Organic Abstraction” (to borrow a phrase used by art critic Richard Kalina): organized, in that they are carefully designed and planned out; and organic, due to the curvy, biomorphic shapes that make up the mostly non-representational work.In “real life,” I don’t have much patience. However, I’ve chosen an approach to art-making that forces me to take things slowly and methodically. Each painting is comprised of one or more base layers upon which I then make thousands of hand-painted marks. I carefully design the paintings so that the color interactions give a sense of depth or luminosity. Because of the way we perceive color, the paintings may look different depending upon how far away you stand, how you catch the light, or what angle you’re looking from. I strive to create paintings where the viewer will want to keep looking, always finding something new to stimulate the eye and the mind.The paintings submmitted here are all composed around Turing Patterns, a kind of pattern formation that was first proposed by British mathematician Alan Turing in 1952. When designing the paintings, I simulate the reaction-diffusion process Turing described in Adobe Photoshop until equilibrium is reached and then, usually with some artistic tweaking, I use that pattern as the basis for a hand-made painting. (A talk I gave about this process is on my website, along with a video demosntration of my painting technique, at: www.andrewwerth.com/videos/). I use Turing Patterns in part because they provide a link to my previous career as a software engineer but also because they show how certain simple processes that occur in nature can be responsible for creating complex and beautiful designs in real life and in art.

 

Website: www.andrewwerth.com

Email: andrew@andrewwerth.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/ArtistAndrewWerth

Twitter: Twitter.com/ajwerth

Phone: 609.275.7420

Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions

  • 2016 Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ: Morphogenesis (New Jersey Emerging Artists Series, solo show)
  • 2015 Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, with Alan Klawans: Curves Ahead
  • 2014 Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, with Alan Klawans: Ideal Forms
  • 2013 Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, with Alan Klawans: Concepts + Realizations 
  • 2012 Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, with Alan Klawans: Patterns & Meaning
  • 2011 Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, with Alan Klawans: Curves and Colors
  • 2010 Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, with Charles Katzenbach: Reflections
  • 2009 Artists’ Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, with Mark Reed: Internal/External
  • 2007 Educational Testing Services Conant Hall, Princeton, NJ: Embodiment (solo show)

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • 2017  Trenton Library, Trenton, NJ: Walls on Walls
    • The Gallery @ Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, NJ: Mercer County Artists 2017
  • 2016  Arts Guild New Jersey, Rahway, NJ: Meditations
    • Lakefront Gallery @ RWJUH, Hamilton, NJ: TAWA Invitational
    • West Windsor Arts Center, West Windsor, NJ: Art of Discovery
    • The Gallery @ Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, NJ: Mercer County Artists 2016
  • 2015  Bowery Gallery, New York, NY: 2015 National Exhibition
    • University of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD: Bridges Math/Art 2015 Conference Art Exhibition
    • The Gallery @ Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, NJ: Mercer County Artists 2015
    • Artists of Yardley, Yardley, PA: 2015 Juried Show
  • 2014  Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminster, NJ: 2014 Juried Show
    • Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA: Benefit for Ballet-X
    • Arts Guild New Jersey, Rahway, NJ: NEXUS
    • Beverly Arts Center, Chicago, IL: BRAIN-ART Initiative
  • 2013 The Gallery @ Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, NJ: Mercer County Artists 2013
  • 2012 Art Times Two Gallery, Princeton, NJ: Energy in Mind
    • Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY: Trenton Makes
    • Arts Guild New Jersey, Rahway, NJ: Prismatic
    • Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ: Art of Illusion
  • 2011  Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA: Absolutely Abstract
  • 2010 Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA: Sirius Art Summer Show
    • Trenton City Museum @ Ellarslie, Trenton, NJ: Face Value
    • Trenton City Museum @ Ellarslie, Trenton, NJ: Ellarslie Open XXVIII
  • 2009  Gallery 125, Trenton, NJ: Point of View
    • Trenton City Museum @ Ellarslie, Trenton, NJ: Ellarslie Open XXVII
    • City without walls @ Seton Hall School of Law, Newark, NJ: Real or Otherwise Around
  • 2008 Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA: Absolutely Abstract
    • D&R Greenway Land Trust, Princeton, NJ: A Matter of Perspective: Personal Landscapes
  • 2007 Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY: A Show of Heads
    • Shore Institute of Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ: International Juried Exhibition
    • The Gallery @ Mercer County Community College: Mercer County Artists 2007

Education

My arts education has been self-directed, drawing upon a diversity of resources throughout New York, including the School of Visual Arts, The New School, and the Art Students League. My formal degrees are from Carnegie Mellon University: B.S. Computer Engineering (1991), M.S. Information Networking (1992).