STEVE BUTCHER

IT’S HOW YOU LOOK AT IT

Back space

Flat, compositional paintings fill the physical boundaries of the canvas to explore the

ambiguous nature of corners and angles, and how they relate to the work. Any illusion

of a space between is disrupted by the grid of adhered squares of vellum and rag paper

that bring one’s eyes back to the surface.

An opportunity has been provided for the viewer to interact with this minimal surface, in

that a way in is suggested - the way in to the way out; or the way out to the way in. The

picture plane can be mentally entered, the corner rounded to arrive in the space behind

- a place of privacy, refuge, a place where the deals are made.

Practice

The inherent qualities of painting, along with the vocabulary used, present a historical

construct and immediate approachability, that provide the platform to convey a new

image-based conceptual viewpoint. Primarily concerned with the physical flat surface of

the painting, I continue to explore the ambiguities of two dimensional representation of

three dimensional space and the manner in which it is perceived.

About

Originally from England, Steve Butcher is an artist and designer who lives and works in

the Lower East Side of New York. Teaching himself how to stretch canvas, he started

painting soon after his arrival and became immersed in the downtown art scene of the

early '80's, exhibiting in galleries in the East Village and SoHo. His first painting on

canvas is now in the collection of The Eli and Edith Broad Museum while many others are in private collections both in the US and Europe.