On February 6th, 2009, the Sego Art Center will open Twenty-four/Seven, an exhibit of new work by local artist Roland Thompson.  In the Annex, Sego presents Big Wreck, a work by California artist Carleton Christy.  An opening reception will be held for the artists from 6 – 9pm that evening in association with the monthly Provo Gallery Stroll.

Like the 1960s art icon Frank Stella, whom he cites as an important influence, Utah artist Roland Thompson straddles the hazy divide between the prescript of High Modernism and that of Minimalism.  In his characteristic work, Thompson invents systematic rules – based on patterns of color, line and shape – by which he paints large, geometric, aluminum cutouts.  Thompson’s inclination toward Modernism is apparent in his striving to keep his paint as flat as possible to the surface of his work, yet his relish for the slight deviation from uniformity speaks strongly to the influence of Minimalism.

Thompson’s new body of abstract, gestural drawings, on display this month in the exhibition Twenty-four/Seven at the Sego Art Center, is itself a deviation, an attempt to “unspring” his formerly concentric, precise patterns of color.  Though Thompson admits these works have taken on an allegory for him, representing the orbital momentum of adult life around the many centers of gravity that must be attended to – home, family, work – these vibrant works are primarily formal.  To borrow the words of Stella, “What you see is what you see.”