Brian Mashburn // ATOMS & VOID

feature • August 5th - 27th, 2016

“We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of the past and the cause of the future.” — Pierre Simon Laplace, A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities

Atoms and Void, a band new series of works by Asheville, NC based artist Brian Mashburn. This series features subjects and themes common to Mashburn's recent work with an emphasis on compositional arrangement and narrative affect. The phrase 'atoms and void' comes from Ancient Greek philosophy, and the concept, sometimes called atomism, reductionism, stoic physics, was used often in the ancient world and throughout history as a reductive natural philosophy in which everything in nature can be reduced to two components: atoms and void.

Brian’s interest, however, lies more in this compulsion to explain our world in blunt terms.  This sort of supremely reductive binary is at once satisfying and aggressively indifferent.  It is also very human. It demonstrates a manner in which we process, understand and reckon with the world around us by constructing an armature on which an ideology can be cultivated.

As with much of Mashburn’s body of work, these new paintings were born from daily observation, experiences and research. They often reflect environmental concerns, social and political conditions, and general catharsis/angst. 
 

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