Mid Century Abstract Skinny Wall Art

Scott Troxel is an American abstract artist born in 1971 who lives and works in Marmora, New Jersey. From an early age, he became obsessed with modern art, color, and design. He is a painter, sculptor, and wall sculptor. Recently, the majority of his work has been in the form of wood mixed media wall sculpture because of his three-dimensional medium process. Troxel is always exploring materials and processes. Sometimes he uses repurposed and found materials and other times he purchases materials new.

Troxel predominantly works with wood as his base medium, due to its strength, dimension, and organic nature. The inherent texture of wood combined with paint and other man-made materials allows him to explore the concepts of old and young, worn versus new, organic versus man-made, and the past versus the present and future.

Troxel looks to capture a sense of time in his work and often combines the feeling of different eras within a single piece. He sees this as a direct parallel with human life, as we too grow older and interact with other generations, both younger and older. He is also particularly interested in items that were considered technologically or aesthetically advanced, only to be passed on by the consistency and tenacity of time — for example, an airplane boneyard where cutting-edge fighter jets from the 1960s sit in forgotten decay. These structures are still beautiful to look at from a design standpoint, even though they are no longer modern in the sense that time and technology have passed them by.

Troxel is particularly inspired by mid-century modernism, where wood and organic shapes were combined with other materials to suggest a type of futurism, though now they are considered vintage. Time has passed on but these pieces remain in the context of when they were designed. Troxel wants his works to feel this way, somewhat nostalgic, aged, and organic with the feeling that it could also be from a future time.

Troxel’s artworks belong to a number of corporate and hospitality collections, including the Shard Building, London; Westin Hotels; Wyndham Hotels; Embassy Suites Hotels and more.

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(Biography provided by galerie bruno massa)

The first decades of the 20th century were a period of artistic upheaval, with modern art movements including Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and Dadaism questioning centuries of traditional views of what art should be. Using abstraction, experimental forms and interdisciplinary techniques, painters, sculptors, photographers, printmakers and performance artists all pushed the boundaries of creative expression.

Major exhibitions, like the 1913 Armory Show in New York City — also known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Art,” in which works like the radically angular Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp caused a sensation — challenged the perspective of viewers and critics and heralded the arrival of modern art in the United States. But the movement’s revolutionary spirit took shape in the 19th century.

The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in new technology and cultural conditions across the world, transformed art from something mostly commissioned by the wealthy or the church to work that responded to personal experiences. The Impressionist style emerged in 1860s France with artists like Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas quickly painting works that captured moments of light and urban life. Around the same time in England, the Pre-Raphaelites, like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, borrowed from late medieval and early Renaissance art to imbue their art with symbolism and modern ideas of beauty.

Emerging from this disruption of the artistic status quo, modern art went further in rejecting conventions and embracing innovation. The bold legacy of leading modern artists Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Piet Mondrian and many others continues to inform visual culture today.

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Mixed media is a type of art that sees artists using a range of materials or more than one medium. Find a range of mixed media paintings and other artworks for your space today on 1stDibs.

Mixed media is distinct from multimedia, which describes art involving electronic media, including video, computers and digital elements. Artists combine painting, drawing, photography and sculpture for mixed media art. Instead of sticking to one form, they aim to break boundaries and create unique pieces. Pop art is one of the vibrant periods for mixed media art, with Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg among its most fabled producers. Rauschenberg, like many mixed media artists, used found objects in his work, from cast-off furniture to newspapers.

Collage is one of the most well-known areas of mixed media. Artists use various types of paper, fabric, photographs and more to create one cohesive work. A type of collage is assemblage, which involves 3D objects.

While artists may use fabric in collage, it can be the very substance of the art itself. Fabric art makes extensive use of texture. Artists may paint or embroider on fabric to create layers of texture and color to evoke a specific feeling. They can also transfer photos onto fabric for innovative ways to display visuals.

Resin-based art has clean, sharp lines and a definitive shape. Resin is a liquid that hardens to a high-gloss surface and is used to seal wood, counters and floors. Resin can also seal artwork, and many artists tint it using pigment powder, ink, spray paint and other vivid materials. If water is added, the resin will turn milky instead of being completely transparent. It’s common for artists working in mixed media to use resin on nontraditional surfaces like glass, wood, metal and stone. This creates a shine that’s perfect to brighten a dull space in the home or office.

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