Outer Limits
20 in x 24 in
12/2021, 12/2025
This painting started with the background (done in 2021), and then I found it in the closet- unfinished – and decided to add the central starburst in 2025. “Outer Limits” radiates like a stellar explosion—an eight‑pointed burst of light pushing against the edges of an ordered, geometric cosmos. The painting captures the sensation of crossing a threshold, as if a star is expanding beyond the known charted grid of space. The background lattice of triangles functions like a cosmic coordinate system, an underlying rational universe against which the central event unfolds. The tight, even spacing of the grid evokes the human urge to measure, map, and predict what lies beyond our world. At the center, an eight-armed star made of circular forms feels kinetic, almost sonic, as if light and matter are rushing outward in multiple directions at once. The gradation in disc size—from dense and large near the core to smaller and more widely spaced at the tips—creates the illusion of acceleration, echoing a supernova, a propulsion flare, or the moment a spacecraft hits escape velocity. This radiating geometry conveys both expansion and directional intent, suggesting a journey toward the outer limits of space and knowledge. The restrained palette of blues, greens, purples, silvers, and deep browns conjures the cool vacuum of space, and alternating dark and light diamonds create a flicker effect, echoing the way stars appear to pulse against the night sky. This chromatic rhythm supports the idea of space as both vast and vibrating—quiet yet charged with energy. “Outer Limits” stages a dialogue between the mapped and the mysterious. The background suggests everything humanity has charted—our data, models, and grids—while the erupting star form embodies what exceeds those systems. The painting invites viewers to imagine the moment when exploration pushes past the edges of the diagram, when light, curiosity, and risk extend beyond the last plotted coordinate. In the context of a space exhibition, it becomes a visual metaphor for crossing from the safety of the known into the exhilarating uncertainty of the cosmic beyond.
