“Bedrock,” works by Lain York
Belmont University’s Leu Art Gallery
The mixed media panel paintings of “Bedrock” lay bare the archaeological foundations that underpin much of Lain York’s work. Ancient artifacts, monuments and other such remains are not directly quoted but suggested through York’s strokes and patterned marks. Certain shapes and spaces emblematize a variety of cultural influences, including African, Mayan, and Aegean, without referring specifically to any given people, location, or time period. Take Tink, a roughly three-foot-by-four-foot work which features three groupings of cylinders that have been outlined with white correction tape. 
Coursing beneath the painted surface of the vivid blue ground are textual clues—ridges and furrows, mounds and hollows—that point to strata ripe for excavation. Small perforations dot the blue field, revealing deep layers of multi-hued paint as well as the panel support. The circular formations of the cylindrical shapes surely recall sacred Neolithic burial sites, such as Stonehenge, but also fortifications or even toy construction sets. The forms York utilizes seem deep-seated in our human nature and endow Tink, as well as several of the other “Bedrock” works, with a certain magnitude.
York professes no real interest in qualifying his sources or taking advantage of their historical significance. Rather, his efforts are focused upon the primitive impulse to represent the intangible, the very same original creative urge that brought the objects and their imagery into existence. The abstract quality of the paintings is as much a result of the complex symbol systems that inspire York as it is a result of trying to endow the supernatural world with physical form. York seems determined to decipher the intuitive, spiritual meaning of the abstract forms and motifs that he employs in a much broader context. The simplified blue-and-white palette of many of the paintings relates to blueprints as a constant reminder of this attempt to map meaning. The schematic white lines have shifted dramatically in Untitled (Sitemap) to the lower right corner of the composition and their movement is of a fevered, anxious variety. Visible beneath the expanse of blue is a raised system of circles, a motif that is used not only to build up surface texture but that also recurs as patterned overlay in the masked lines. A series of drilled holes, like those in Tink, penetrate the top painted layers while an incised mark meanders throughout the composition. Untitled (Sitemap) possesses a density and complexity shared by some ancient Mesoamerican architectural sites whose symbolic plans were periodically renewed to enhance the connection between the supernatural and physical worlds.
By far the largest work of “Bedrock,” Untitled (Permian Chapters) is comprised of twelve four-foot-by-four-foot unprimed panels, arranged in two rows of six, each panel hung slightly askew on the wall. White lines of correction tape undulate across the surfaces of the individual pieces, uniting the two rows of panels along the crests and troughs of waves. The rhythm not only of the lines but also of the tilted panels expresses a flow of visual energy and echoes the natural pattern of the wood. The two horizon lines, one high across the top panels and the other low across the bottom ones, anchor the movement and provide a controlled counterpoint to the dynamic force that they contain. This commanding series sums up York’s spirit of exploration and the cultural reverberations that characterize the other works on display.
“Bedrock” closes Thursday, January 26th. Belmont University’s Leu Art Gallery is located inside the Lila D. Bunch Library, at the corner of Belmont Boulevard and Acklen Avenue. Parking is available off Acklen Avenue and at the Wedgewood Avenue and 16th Avenue S.
Images:
Tink
mixed media on panel; 2010
32″ x 46″ x 4″
Untitled (Permian Chapters)
Mixed media on panel; 2011
Dimensions variable
Untitled (site map)
mixed media on panel, 2011
40” x 44”
