VOLTA New York: Jody Rasch – Mark Pomilio – Shanthi Chandrasekar

Some of the most innovative artists working today are fusing art and science and taking inspiration from science. LAMINAproject−a gallery/platform devoted to art/science−showcases artwork by emerging and established artists that integrates ideas, images and metaphors of science to convey fundamental truths about the world and explore different characteristics of art-science relationships. LAMINAproject’s artists not only show the beauty of science, but also communicate how these images relate to and help us see beyond our daily existence. As expressions of both the patterns of the natural world and the metaphors underlying modern science, their art allows us to see beauty in the repulsive, to find knowledge in the unknown, and to observe the unseen to more clearly see our world. By exploring the invisible, Rasch, Pomilio, and Chandrasekar invite the observer to look beyond the “seen” to appreciate the beauty and mystery of the “unseen.”

Jody Rasch’s work is drawn from various science practices, including astronomy, biology, and sub-atomic physics. In his subject matter and technique, Rasch builds on historical concepts and movements from Pointillism and Constructivism to Dada and Surrealism, which were influenced by science. Abstract yet recognizable to scientists, Rasch brings images to a more human scale by enlarging the infinitesimally small or closing the distance to cosmic phenomena, making these hidden and remote elements of the universe relatable to our existence in it. His works are an expression of both the patterns of the natural world and the metaphors underlying modern science. They allow us to see the beauty in the repulsive and to observe the unseen to more clearly see our world, reminding us that there is more to the universe than meets the eye

Mark Pomilio uses the traditional media of charcoal and oil paint on a variety of traditional and non-traditional supports to explore the complexity, wonder and beauty of our natural world. In the paintings and drawings exhibited at VOLTA, he utilizes simple geometry to represent abstract scientific forces and the fact that nature, both at the micro- and macro-level, is in a constant state of change. His large format work, The Approach of Spring (2023), expresses the dynamic transformation of the seasons from winter to spring through a repeating series of three geometric forms, which together build a complex matrix of patterns and curvilinear lines. The forms act as a visual surrogate for the complexities of organic organisms, which undergo a metamorphosis, as winter wanes and spring approaches.

Shanthi Chandrasekar has been trained in the traditional art forms of Kolam and Tanjore-style painting. While many of her works are influenced by her Indian heritage, her true inspiration comes from the mystery and majesty of the world around her; her muse lives where the scientific overlaps with the spiritual.  Her artistic practice combines scientific and philosohical enquiry—facts and theories—with a wild imagination and constant exploration. Fascinated by cosmology, Chandrasekar is presenting artwork at VOLTA that is inspired by the study of the origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the Universe.  These big questions have been raised by various cultures and civilizations from time immemorial, leading to various creation theories. Through theoretical and experimental methods, science has been on the search for these ultimate truths.  The artist has explored these theories and discoveries through geometrical abstraction, ideas from traditional arts and her own visual interpretations