Trygve Faste Dimensional Shift CHEYMORE GALLERY 233 Route 17, PO Box 836, Tuxedo Park, NY, 10987 Phone: 917.658.9063 www.cheymoregallery.com 1
Artist s Acknowledgements Thanks to Mae Shore, Director of Cheymore Gallery, for her enthusiasm to organize this exhibition and Susan Joyce of Fringe Exhibitions for her generosity and interest in writing the essay for this catalog. Finally, I would like to thank Jessica Swanson for her honest critical feedback, love and support. Institutional Acknowledgements The University of Oregon s School of Architecture and Allied Arts and the Oregon Arts Commission made contributions to this project and I am grateful for their help. Notes All dimensions are shown in imperial and metric, height x length x depth. Cover: Protoform Blue Red DETAIL 36" x 61.5" x 6" (91.5cm x 156cm x 15cm) acrylic on canvas Page 3: Protoform Blue Red DETAIL 29" x 44" x 6" ( 74cm x 112cm x 15cm) acrylic on canvas 2
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Protoform Red Purple 36" x 61.5" x 6" (91.5cm x 156cm x 15cm) acrylic on canvas 4
DIMENSIONAL SHIFT By Susan Joyce There is a revival of abstract painting happening now in the art world with several survey shows at museums and galleries from New York to Los Angeles and in between, including popular international art fairs such as Art Basel and beyond. The current generation of artists uses new approaches in concept and process to explore the possibilities of abstraction. The evolution of abstract art is a direct response and expression to the social experience of life in 21st century. Emergent developments in abstract painting intersect with sculpture, design, and fashion. Today, newly updated abstract art often is created with the use of digital tools for exploration with materials and technology. In this new body of work Trygve Faste creates sleek constructed custom color paintings called protoforms. The origami-like sculptural canvas forms are hinged together with engineered precision. The process begins with hand drawn shapes on paper that are then made into cutout paper models. Theses shapes are then drawn on the computer in a computer aided design program (CAD) for the construction of the frame. A laser cut wood frame is made from the CAD images. The geometric form frame is assembled and canvas is stretched onto the frame 5
creating a sculptural object. Paint is then applied by airbrush to the multi sided canvases. The paintings are conceptually linked to industrial design and manufactured objects from consumer culture. They play with surface to add illusion and depth to create abstracted stylistic cues. Intentional references to human constructed design strategies make the objects appear more advanced, technological, and futuristic. The work engages conceptual issues of material creation through an abstract visual language of implied functionality. I first met Trygve about 10 years ago in his studio at Cranbrook Academy of Art where he was working on paintings of imagined architectural landscapes. Over the past decade I have been following his career and observing the evolution of his work. A move to Los Angeles provided a larger studio space to paint large- scale representational works of corporate office parks, electronic data storage centers, and super computer systems. Coincidentally these huge sites often have ample space for the display of corporate collections of large-scale art works. No doubt his prior background in math and computer science has influenced his ideas. A few years ago he was appointed assistant professor of product design at the University Oregon. The move brought about a new transition to push the genre in a different direction. 6
Protoform Blue Red DETAIL 29" x 44" x 6" ( 74cm x 112cm x 15cm) acrylic on canvas 7
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This new work raises the bar that takes painting to a whole other level. The meticulously crafted three-dimensional shaped canvases are painted to create an optical illusionist surface causing a subtle confusion between 2D and 3D. The airbrushed paint dots add texture and optical depth. These highly graphic stylized paintings relate to objects of desire and consumer products that convey ideas of speed, comfort, or performance. Bold lines and sharp angles offer hints of architecture, robotics, and transformers. The bright, lively, radiant, and lush color palate selection reflects current pop design trends. Kicked up a notch these innovative works add a new dimension to abstract painting today. Page 8: Protoform Brown Yellow Pink 29" x 44" x 6" ( 74cm x 112cm x 15cm) acrylic on canvas 9
Protoform Blue Pink Gray 16" x 29" x 4" ( 40cm x 73cm x 10cm) acrylic on canvas Page 11: Protoform Brown Yellow Pink DETAIL 29" x 44" x 6" ( 74cm x 112cm x 15cm) acrylic on canvas 10
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Protoform Green Pink 36" x 82.5" x 5" (91.5cm x 208cm x 13cm) acrylic on canvas 12
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Protoform Blue Gray 15" x 39" x 4" ( 38cm x 99cm x 10cm) acrylic on canvas Page 16: Process Images Sketches, paper models, canvas stretcher assembly, stretched canvas, and paintings in progress Page 18: Protoform Brown Yellow Pink in Progress 15
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TRYGVE FASTE Born 1973, Syracuse NY Lives and works in Eugene, OR EDUCATION 2004 MFA in Painting, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI 1997 BA in Studio Art and Mathematics/Computer Science, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA SOLO EXHIBITIONS Dimensional Shift, Cheymore Gallery, Tuxedo Park, NY Technoforms, David Richard Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2009 Technovista, Spacecraft Gallery, San Diego, CA 2006 The Cranbrook Paintings, Lemberg Gallery, Ferndale, MI 2000 Bay Area Images, D2M Gallery Space, Mountain View, CA GROUP EXHIBITIONS Salão Design: Casa Brasil, Bento Gonçalves, Brazil Good Eye Open, Curve Line Space, Los Angeles, CA What If?, Art and Design Exhibition, TEDx and the University of Oregon, White Box Gallery & Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR 2012 Gallery Artists, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA Tomorrowland, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA ShowPDX, Fix Studio, Portland, OR (Juried) Chronicle on Design, Lakewood Center For the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR (Juried) KOKESHI: From Tradition to Today, Oregon Nikkei Endowment, Portland OR 2011 Art Basel, Miami Art Fair, David Richard Contemporary, Miami, FL Recent Work, General group exhibition space, David Richard Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2010 Framework, David Richard Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM Art Santa Fe, Santa Fe Art Fair, David Richard Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2009 Faculty Exhibition, Design Department Gallery, California State University, Long Beach, CA LA Exhibition, CAA Cranbrook Alumni Event, Los Angeles, CA NEXT Chicago Art Fair, Imperfect Articles Booth, Chicago, IL 2008 Winter Group Show, Gallery 643, Ventura, California Bailout Package, Spacecraft Gallery, San Diego, CA Summer Mix, Lemberg Gallery, Ferndale, MI Alma Mater, Kinkead Contemporary, Culver City, Los Angeles, CA Featured Drawing Files Artist, Fringe Exhibitions, China Town, Los Angeles, CA 2007 Contemporary Urban Landscape, Lemberg Gallery, Ferndale, MI WOP, Works On Paper, The Brewery Project, Los Angeles, CA 2006 Anniversary Exhibition, DaimlerChrysler, Farmington Hills, MI 2005 Building Connections: Architectural Dialogues, Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI Winter Group Exhibition, Lemberg Gallery, Ferndale, MI 2004 Faculty Exhibition, Sheehan Gallery, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA Summer Group Show, Lemberg Gallery, Ferndale, MI Thesis Exhibition, Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI 2003 Fan Fair, Forum Gallery, Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI Feelings, Forum Gallery, Cranbrook Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI 17 2001 California Grown, The Base Space, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1999 Zines and Comics Exhibition, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
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ACADEMIC POSITIONS 2010 present Assistant Professor, Product Design Program, School of Architecture and Allied Arts, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 2008 2010 Adjunct Faculty, California State University, Long Beach, CA Adjunct Faculty, Rio Hondo College, Los Angeles, CA Adjunct Faculty, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA Adjunct Faculty, Art Department, Pierce College, Woodland Hills, CA Fall 2005 Artist In Residence/Interim Head of the Graduate Painting Department, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI 2004 2005 Assistant Professor of Art, Johnston Visiting Scholar, Art Department, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA 2000 Lecturer, Design Division, Stanford University, Stanford, CA PUBLIC ART PROJECTS 2012 Water Garden, public fountain, Senior Product Designer at WET Design, City Creek Center, Salt Lake City, UT 2010 Glacia, Kinetic ice sculpture, Lead Project Designer at WET Design, MGM, Daniel Libeskind Architecture, City Center, Las Vegas, NV Lumia, Multiple water features, Lead Project Designer at WET Design, MGM, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architecture, City Center, Las Vegas, NV Halo, Water sculpture, Lead Project Designer at WET Design, MGM, Daniel Libeskind Architecture, City Center, Las Vegas, NV JURIED EXHIBITIONS IN PRINT 2011 Studio Visit Magazine. Issue #16, Juror Ian Berry, Associate Director and Curator at The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY COLLECTIONS Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI Compuware, Detroit, MI Chrysler, Detroit, MI Feldman Collection, Bloomfield Hills, MI FUNDED PROJECTS AND GRANTS Oregon Arts Commission, Individual Artist Opportunity Grant, $1,500 2011 Board of Visitors Faculty Fellowship and Student Assistantship Award, Functional Moss Surfaces, UO AAA, $4,500 Creative Activity Award, UO AAA Dean s Office Research Grant $4,000 INVITED LECTURES 2012 Hans Burkhardt Honorary Speaker, Art and Design Center, California State University, Northridge, CA 2011 International Design Alliance Congress, Technology Toys Workshop Results, Taipei City, Taiwan 2010 Guest Lecturer, First Year Design Foundations Class, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA 2009 Design Department, California State University, Long Beach, CA Guest Lecturer, First Year Design Foundations Class, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA 2008 Painting Program, Art and Design Center, California State University, Northridge CA Guest Lecturer, First Year Design Foundations Class, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA 2002 Guest Lecturer, Engineering for Design, Design and Engineering Department, North Western University, Evanston, IL 19 2000 Guest Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering 101, Design Division of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford, CA 1999 Guest Lecturer, Ambidextrous Thinking, Design Division of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY Regenerative Infrastructures, Land Art Generator Initiative Caroline Klein and LAGI, May Ceramic Review, Bryophyte Edition 1: Moss Jars Trygve Faste & Jessica Swanson, March/April, LA Weekly, Disney s Tomorrowland Inspires an Art Show Annie Tucker, Nov 19, 2012 Sketching With Copic Kenneth O Connell, 2010 The Metro Times, City Lights: Lemberg Gallery Joins the Metropolitan Conversation George Tysh, February 28, 2007 The Detroiter, Two-in-One: Gallery Project/Lemberg Gallery Nick Sousanis, February 28, 2007 The Metal Sunset of Tomorrows Ascending Decent Jules Boykoff, May 2006 Royal Oak Mirror, Lemberg Gallery Shows Cranbrook Work J.L. Bardelline, April 13, 2006 Contemporary, Clara Park, Positions of Contemporary Painting from Leipzig. Matthew Biro, issue no 69, 2004 AWARDS 2004 Merit Scholarship, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI 2003 Merit Scholarship, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI 1997 Perry Award, Senior Thesis Exhibition, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA 20