Neutral Burst Diptych

22 in x 22 in each, 6/2026

My intention for this set of paintings was to lay down an ordered square background of greys, from very dark (essentially black) to much lighter.  I did this my mixing different ratios of titanium white with mars black - 19 hues in all, and then laid them down either dark in the center and moving lightward towards the edges, or vice versa.  I added a central circle and radial "shards" to the piece, and filled them in with highly textured colors made up of modeling paste and 4 different metallic grays (iridescent black, antique silver, rich silver and pearlescent white), laid down with a palette knife in an orientation opposite to the background color grid.  Then using the edge of a palette knife, I applied straight cuts through the wet paint/modeling paste outward in, and inward out, to achieve a look of motion within the shapes.  Finally, I applied a thick layer of glass bead gel in between the shards to give an interesting "organic" look to the piece.  To me,  these two works read as a commentary on energy held in tension between order and volatility, like a neutral star caught between implosion and explosion.  The neutral palette devoid of primary colors keeps the emphasis on value and texture rather than hue, so the drama comes from geometry and pattern rather than color.

In the “contracting” panel, the darker, more saturated center and inward-slanting fields create a gravitational pull that feels centripetal; the eye is drawn down and inward, as if energy and matter are condensing into a dense, pressurized core. In the “expanding” panel, the lighter central square and more aerated outer field make the shards feel as though they are pushing outward from the middle to suggest a centrifugal burst that opens the space instead of collapsing it. Seen together, the pair functions less as “before and after” and more as two simultaneous solutions to the same equation: how to hold explosive energy in a stable lattice.