These paintings grew out of my long-time artist-in-residency in the Alivisatos Lab, a nanoscience lab at the University of California at Berkeley. There, I studied and synthesized structurally colored nanoparticles smaller than wavelengths of light. I use these particles as paint. More.
That We May See in a Chamber Things That Are Not 1. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 17 inches, 2017.
That We May See in a Chamber Things That Are Not 2. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 17 inches, 2017.
That We May See in a Chamber Things That Are Not 3. Silver nanoparticles and graphite on glass. 36 x 17 inches, 2017.
That We May See in a Chamber Things That Are Not 4. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 17 inches, 2017.
That We May See in a Chamber Things That Are Not 5. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 17 inches, 2017.
That We May See in a Chamber Things That Are Not 6. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 17 inches, 2017.
That We May See in a Chamber Things That Are Not 7. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 17 inches, 2017.
That We May See in a Chamber Things That Are Not 8. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 17 inches, 2017.
No Doubt Created by Some Vain and Secret Art from the Empty Simulcra of Things. Silver nanoparticles and graphite on glass. 36 x 16 inches, 2017.
They Can Indeed Fashion Ethereal Shapes from the Air, from Vapors. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 16 inches, 2017.
Of Producing Light Originally from Divers Bodies. Silver on glass. 14 x 11 inches, 2015.
Of Producing Light Originally from Divers Bodies 2. Silver on glass. 14 x 11 inches, 2015.
Installation view: A Possibility as Vibrant as it is Improbable. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 16 x 59 inches; Aluminum and oil on leather. 22 x 19 inches, 2013.
A Possibility as Vibrant as it is Improbable. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 16 x 59 inches, 2013.
Uncanny Likenesses of Fictitious Creatures. Silver on glass. 36 x 58 inches, 2013.
Animalcules. Silver on glass. 30 x 36. 2012.
That Divers and Sundrie Shapes will Appeare in Glasses. Silver mirroring on glass. 30 x 36 inches, 2011.
This series is inspired by two butterflies—one that scientists are working to bring back from extinction, and another that scientists have engineered to alter its wings’ patterning.... More.
The Biological Significance of These Sequences is Not Known 1 (Xerces Blue). Oil on panel. 23 x 23 inches. 2018.
The Biological Significance of these Sequences is Not Known 3 (Xerces Blue). Oil on panel. 23 x 23 inches. 2017.
The Biological Significance of these Sequences is Not Known 2 (Xerces Blue). Oil on panel. 23 x 23 inches. 2016.
The Biological Significance of these Sequences is Not Known 5 ( Vanessa Cardui). Oil on panel. 23 x 23 inches. 2017.
The Biological Significance of these Sequences is Not Known 6 (Vanessa Cardui). Oil on panel. 23 x 23 inches. 2017.
The Biological Significance of these Sequences is Not Known 4 (Xerces Blue). Oil on panel. 23 x 23 inches. 2017.
The Biological Significance of These Sequences is Not Known 7 (Vanessa Cardui). Oil on panel. 23 x 23 inches. 2020.
Created for the 2015 Article Biennial in Stavanger, Norway, Figments flash and hide, flickering in and out of visibility. More…
Figment 1. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 19 x 22 inches, 2015.
Figment 2. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 23 x 24 inches, 2015.
Figment 3. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 24 x 14 inches. 2015.
Figment 4. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 21 x 32 inches. 2015.
Figment 4. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 21 x 32 inches. 2015.
Figment 5. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 26 x 15 inches. 2015.
…I began imagining a sort of continuum between imitating nature and controlling it, between copying something and creating something new. More…
On the Generation of Animals 2. Oil on panel. 48 x 66 inches, 2021.
On the Generation of Animals 1. Oil on panel, 24 x 36 inches, 2019.
Of Forms Transformed to Bodies New and Strange 2. Oil on panel. 48 x 48 inches, 2019.
Of Which There Shall Afterward No Sign Appear. Oil on panel. 43 x 56 inches. 2017.
Still Life with Milkfish 1. Oil on panel. 43 x 56 inches. 2013.
But Their Likenesses, As it Were, Their Shadows 2. Oil on panel. 43 x 43 inches. 2017.
But Their Likenesses, As it Were, Their Shadows 1. Oil on panel. 43 x 56 inches. 2015.
Diametri Luminarium. Oil on panel. 43 x 56 inches. 2015.
Eidolon. Oil on panel. 24 x 36 inches. 2017.
Pollux. Oil on panel. 23 x 23 inches. 2017.
For it Shows You a Thing that is Not. Oil on panel. 24 x 32 inches, 2012.
In Them We See Ourselves is a series of paintings that juxtaposes contemporary nanotechnology with Victorian-era mirror-making technology. More…
In Them We See Ourselves 12. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 32 x 16 inches, 2017.
In Them We See Ourselves 13. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 32 x 16 inches, 2017.
In Them We See Ourselves 14. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 32 x 16 inches, 2017.
In Them We See Ourselves 6. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 18 inches, 2016.
In Them We See Ourselves 7. Silver mirroring and gold nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 18 inches, 2016.
In Them We See Ourselves 8. Silver mirroring and silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 18 inches, 2016.
In Them We See Ourselves 11. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 18 inches, 2016.
In Them We See Ourselves 5. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 18 inches, 2016.
In Them We See Ourselves 10. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 18 inches, 2016.
Clupea. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 32 x 16 inches, 2013.
In Them We See Ourselves 4. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 36 x 18 inches, 2012.
L: In Them We See Ourselves 3. Silver on glass. 32 x 16 inches, 2012.
R: The Eye is in Error about the Moveable. Graphite and lead on linen. 32 x 16, 2012.
There’s something powerful about making art in collaboration with organisms whose nature is alien to my own…. More.
Invisible Bodies Produce Skins to Breathe 1. Cellulosic skin grown by A. xylinum, 10 x 8 inches. 2011-2020.
Keeping The Look, The Shape Of What It Held Before Its Wandering. Cellulosic skin grown by A. xylinum, 30 x 20 inches. 2011-2020.
Invisible Bodies Produce Skins to Breathe 6. Cellulosic skin grown by A. xylinum. 17 x 13 inches. 2011-2020.
.
Invisible Bodies Produce Skins to Breathe 3. Cellulosic skin grown by A. xylinum, gold nanoparticles. 17 x 13 inches. 2011-2020.
Invisible Bodies Produce Skins to Breathe 3, 5, 6. Cellulosic skin grown by A. xylinum. 17 x 13 inches. 2011-2020.
Invisible Bodies Produce Skins to Breathe 7. Cellulosic skin grown by A. xylinum. 17 x 13 inches. 2012.
Invisible Bodies Produce Skins to Breathe 5. Cellulosic skin grown by A. xylinum. 17 x 13 inches. 2012-2019.
Invisible Bodies Produce Skins to Breathe 4. Cellulosic skin grown by A. xylinum. 17 x 13 inches. 2012-2019.
Experiment in Viewing-Angle Dependence 107. Hide, wood. 12 x 15 inches, 2014.
A possibility as vibrant as it is improbable 1. Aluminum and oil on leather. 22 x 19 inches, 2012.
A possibility as vibrant as it is improbable 2. Aluminum on leather. 22 x 22 inches, 2013.
Petting Painting 1. Aluminum on artificial fur. 36 x 40 inches, 2013.
Petting Painting 2. Aluminum on artificial fur. 56 x 24 inches, 2013.
Painting with silver nanoparticles, I became fascinated by early experiments harnessing silver’s sensitivity to light and x-rays: Victorian photographs and radiographs. More…
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 1. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 14. Silver nanoparticle paint and silver mirroring on glass. 12 x 15.5 inches, 2015.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 2. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 15. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 9. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 6. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 3. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 4. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 1. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 1. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 7. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 8. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Visible Signs of Indeterminate Meaning 1. Silver nanoparticle paint on glass. 12 x 8.5 inches, 2014.
Untitled. Fur, aluminum paint, 2 x 9 inches, 2017.
In Pursuit of Complete Objects. Graphite and chalk on cotton. 7 x 20 inches, 2013.
Untitled (body-building). Aluminum, bread, fur, shellac, wool. 2 x 21 inches, 2013.
Untitled. Specimens found on sidewalk, aluminum paint, 4 x 11 inches, 2017.
Untitled. Specimens found on sidewalk, aluminum paint, 2 x9 inches, 2017.
Through the Looking Glass was commissioned by The Leonardo, a museum of art and science in Salt Lake City. It allows museum visitors to experience the unique optical properties of nanoscale color.
Each of the pieces here grew out of my long-time artist-in-residency in the Alivisatos Lab, a nanoscience lab at the University of California at Berkeley. There, I studied and synthesized structurally colored nanoparticles smaller than wavelengths of light. I use these particles to make paintings, sculptures, and photographic sculptures.
Through the Looking Glass 1. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 24 x 45 inches, 2011.
Through the Looking Glass 1. Silver nanoparticles on glass. 24 x 45 inches, 2011.
Related press:
KQED QUEST Science on the Spot mini-doc
Hysteresis (Luna, Lunar Caustic). Silver nanoparticles, silver-mirrored glass tubing, wax. 17 x 4 inches, 2009.
Experiments in Fluid Photography 15. Silver nanoprisms in pyrex glass tube. ½ inch x 6 feet, 2011.
Experiments in Fluid Photography 1. Silver nanoparticles, glass pipettes. 8 inches x 20 feet, 2009.
Experiments in Fluid Photography 1. Silver nanoparticles, glass pipettes. 8 inches x 20 feet, 2009.
Experiments in Fluid Photography 5. Silver nanoprisms, glass capillaries. 8 x 3 inches, 2009.
Experiments in Fluid Photography 7. Silver nanoprisms, silver nanospheres, glass capillaries. 4.5 x 3 inches, 2009.
Untitled. Unique silver gelatin photogram. 24 x 20 inches. 2019.
Untitled. Unique silver gelatin photogram. 24 x 20 inches. 2019.
Untitled. Unique silver gelatin photogram. 24 x 20 inches. 2019.
Untitled. Unique silver gelatin photogram. 24 x 20 inches. 2019.
Untitled. Unique silver gelatin photogram. 20 x 24 inches. 2019.
Untitled. Unique silver gelatin photogram. 24 x 20 inches. 2019.
Balzac’s Ghosts 13. Unique Silver gelatin photogram. 20 x 16 inches. 2017.
Balzac’s Ghosts 9, 10. Unique Silver gelatin photograms. 20 x 16 inches each. 2017.
Balzac’s Ghosts 7, 8. Unique Silver gelatin photograms. 20 x 16 inches each. 2017.
Balzac’s Ghosts 6. Unique Silver gelatin photogram. 20 x 16 inches. 2017.
Lab Notebook 2008-2015. Photogenic drawing on paper, 2015.
Corruptibility of the flesh 1. Photograph. 10 x 15 inches, 2012.
Corruptibility of the flesh 2. Photograph. 10 x 15 inches, 2012.
Corruptibility of the flesh 3. Photograph. 10 x 15 inches, 2012.
Gestate 6. Photograph. 15 x 10 inches, 2012.
Gestate 7. Photograph. 15 x 10 inches, 2012.
Gestate 2. Photograph. 15 x 10 inches, 2012.
Gestate 3. Photograph. 15 x 10 inches, 2012.
Cleave 1. Photograph. 10 x 15 inches, 2012.
Cleave 2. Photograph. 10 x 15 inches, 2012.
Cleave 3. Photograph. 10 x 15 inches, 2012.
Cleave 4. Photograph. 10 x 15 inches, 2012.
