Isaac Pohoryles Gelb

Artist Statement

Whether representational or abstract, all of my art begins by acknowledging the flatness of the two-dimensional picture surface. The inherent distortion in translating three dimensions into two allows the reference’s component shapes, facets, and curves to overtake the unified image as subjects. While shapes and patterns can be artistic subjects in their own right, my purpose with geometric composition is to liberate color and light from the depicted subject matter.

My preoccupation with geometric structure extends through physical reality into abstraction. While I am intrigued by the construction and mechanization of our built environment, these scenes become spaces to reflect on internalized constructions, parts of reality which are “built” and maintained by cultural and political artifice. The anatomy of our built environment codes our priorities, frames our perspectives, regulates our engagement with nature, and even shapes our identities. By deflecting my focus through the subject onto light and color, my work uses the artifice of the drawn/painted surface to grasp hold of– and mystify– the constructed components of lived experience.

Please browse my work— you can find everything in the “Portfolio” section— and get in touch if you have any thoughts!

Thank you so very much for being here!