March 2011

Lowcountry Artists in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Wayne Carrick

Lowcountry Artists in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, The Colors of Acid, featuring works on metal burned with chemicals by Wayne Carrick, on view from Mar. 2 - 31, 2012. A reception will be held on Mar. 2, from 5-8pm.

Carrick’s pieces are indoor and outdoor art and is quite different from most work seen in the Charleston area.

Wayne M.A. Carrick was born in Queens, NY. His close-knit Italian-American family was deeply distressed when he left the fold to pursue his education in Iowa where he earned an AS, BA and a doctorate focused in the fields of health and science.

Since early childhood, Carrick would find himself entranced by the clouds in the sky, wishing he could create something of like awe and beauty. It would not be until midlife that he could deny his yearning for creativity no longer and began to pursue his artistic interests in earnest. Painting in dramatic, bold colors with high contrast served him well.

As a natural extension of Carrick’s training and education, using his senses and feelings to discern how things worked together were very important. In a quest for answers, what he would now term Temporal Art, was born.

“My work is done with chemicals that burn on the surface of the steel to in essence capture a moment in that cycle of life,” says Carrick. “I have hyper-accelerated this process by the use of chemicals, only to halt it, and then preserve it. As you can imagine, even with the most painstaking care, the result is never certain. The rough, unfinished edges of the steel show stress, burn marks and finality to the process. It speaks of the birth of the steel itself and the heat that is necessary to work with it!”

Painstaking analysis, research and time have expanded in the fusion of organic and inorganic color elements into the creative process he has developed. The blending of “hot”, fiery colors has now been harnessed to add interest and contrast to the “low” of the cool metal.

“As always with this work, some processes only take but a moment, before the window closes permanently on the waiting cells of the metal to respond. A cruel master indeed to serve,” adds Carrick.

“Other processes in each piece are nurtured, almost childlike, as you would lovingly, hopefully guide it toward maturation for a week, and sometimes as long as a month to reach the final result. Which at times, never comes.”

Intricate “highs and lows” in the color of each piece can be observed. They have been planned, but cannot be relied upon. “Much like the crashing of waves on the shore, you can participate but certainly cannot control the outcome,” say Carrick. “For some, you may dabble from the safety of the shore, but for others, if you are to participate fully, it is in the crest of the wave, almost crushed; this is where the work lives and it is most vulnerable.”

For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/577-9295 or visit (www.lowcountryartists.com).

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