James Siena

www.thepacegallery.com

James Siena is known for his unique process, creating intricate geometric abstractions driven by predetermined self-imposed sets of rules, or 'visual algorithms.' By establishing a basic unit and action and repeating it ad infinitum, Siena allows the unpredictability of his self-generated system to govern the final outcome of his complex picture plane, while still maintaining the presence of the artist’s hand. The painstakingly crafted works demonstrate that even a small change to an initial variable produces vastly different end results.

Sequence I (2009), is a hand-printed, double-sided accordion book that stretches seventeen-feet long. The double-sided book follows a linear, geometric pattern as it coalesces and unwinds through thirty-six pages, black intertwining with red, and in reverse. The abstraction climaxes on two final frames (back and front), where the sequence reaches its full realization and the rule is maximized, having gone through seventeen 'moves.'

Prints