Synthetic Abstract Paintings

Orange and green toned mixed media painting by Texan artist McKay Otto. Done on nylon fabric, Otto is able to create an almost three-dimensional effect by layering shear circles. Sig...

synthetic polymer on canvas signature, title, year and top on verso Music is the starting point of Tim Bavington’s paintings. Through synthetic polymer paint and spray guns, Bavington translates scores from musicians such as Prince, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and The Rolling Stones into compositions of vibrant bands of color. The variation in width and color represents the audible shifts and durations throughout a piece of music, a coded, abstract structure that aids in determining each composition. However, the artist explains that the process and paintings are “more intuitive and improvisational than they may appear,” they are not literal translations of the songs. For each musical score that the artist chooses he works to find a palette and compositional framework that reflects the tone of the song through over a dozen studies before beginning work on the final large-scale paintings. The relationship of color and sound has a rich history and dialogue, one that Bavington contributes to through his unique form of creating an experience of both the aural and visual. Tim Bavington was born in 1966 in England. He received his BFA from the Art Center in Pasadena, CA before making the permanent move to Las Vegas, where he completed his MFA at the University of Nevada- Las Vegas. His work is included in the public collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Blake Byrne Collection in Los Angeles, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Denver Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, Palm Springs Art Museum, among many others. Bavington has also completed a number of public art installations; including Pipe Dream Fanfare (for the Common Man) at Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, NV and Louie, Louie at the Edith Green...