In Mass Continuum, William Swanson's solo exhibition currently on view at Walter Maciel Gallery in Los Angeles, the artist paints his canvases with lurid, yet toxic greens, oranges and yellows, that reek—pleasantly, at least to the eye—of nature, architecture and manufacturing converging upon each other. This is William's "reflected reality," intertwining nature with architecture, from perspectives both observed and imagined. Landscapes and buildings bleed into one another, exist in partial form, and sometimes just float in two-dimensional space, as though usurped by chemicals, seeping in from the edges.

Terraform Complex, 2010 by William Swanson

The gallery writes of the paintings:

The works examine propagation of flora within vacated public spaces including halls, corridors and atriums. The empty spaces stand as skeletal frameworks holding grids of light fixtures, sections of walls and partitions. These structures indicate a once active corporate or retail infrastructure now abandoned and stripped of its original function.

... While Swanson’s earlier works begged the question as to whether concrete walls and barriers obstruct the growth of the natural world, the new works allow the viewer to speculate whether the environment has perhaps flourished in spite of artificial materials being set upon it.

Upon looking at these pieces, one can't help but think of the oil spill, overtaking the Gulf Coast, and the alarming shades of orange and green, rising to the surface as oil pulses beneath. Havoc is being wrought below the surface, yet the natural world persists—we hope. In this sense, William's work might be seen as vaguely optimistic, suggesting that no matter the industry, or the concrete and fluorescent barriers we erect, nature exists as part of our past and our future. It pervades our environment and becomes part of whatever landscape dares to challenge it, creating an entirely new palette defined by its adaptation.

Installation view of Mass Continuum

Mass Continuum
Walter Maciel Gallery
On view through July 2nd, 2010
2642 S. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

William's edition, Chemical Schematic, which also marries architecture with a reflected sunset of fictionalized pinks and purples, is available on 20x200.