Kevin Pincus’s recent series of paintings display an exquisitely controlled approach to the abstract image.  Built from a masking style of deconstructive technique using various white washes (Zinc, Titanium and Cremnitz whites) to “unpaint” large parts of the canvas and highlight the critical parts of the abstract construction, the effect is one of the dense information field common to most modern abstraction, tempered by a spacious “reductiveness” as practiced by middle abstract expressionists such as Motherwell and Rothko.

Mr. Pincus creates abstract paintings that cause one to expect that he may be a much older artist, one steeped in the history of the form and who’s been painting for decades, rather than the young emerging artist that he is.  Most significantly, it has the reserve, the hand of one who’s immune to youthful bombast.

The maturity in this work belies the youthful, joyous person that is Kevin. One can surmise that his joie de vivre informs his work even as his innate talent and the serious discipline he brings to it engage the tension between energy and restraint.  In painting after painting he hits precisely the right note.

This consistency derives from his dedicated, blue-collar work ethic as well as his passion for painting.  Kevin has completed an MFA in painting and drawing and also works as a skilled carpenter.  Artists, such as David Smith - who brings his ironworker’s ethic to his sculpture, especially inspire him.

Kevin christens this new series "Wastescapes" to infer a process of uncovering elemental fragments of emotional and personal impact while immersed in an environment that seems initially sterile.  Elusive images reveal themselves in an austere wilderness; mysterious talismans briefly captured and documented – history, sensation, object, symbol.  The result is starkly beautiful, emotionally resonant, cutting edge abstraction.

Statement:

"Abstraction is not just nature and architecture, organic and inorganic. It is about identity - who are you and what you are made of? It is about being brave and owning up to your ideas. Abstract painting is exploring what the work is made of, letting the ideas come from the work. That begins when you abandon any and all of the preconceived notions you might have about abstraction. Abstract painting is the push and the pull, taking the idea too far, making the mistake. Turning the relevant into the irrelevant and then back again.

In my mind true abstraction inevitably turns its back on us all. Yet still, some of us manage to persevere and think it through without asking for answers. From Mondrian’s idea of painting to " ask big baffling questions" to David Smiths abandonment of the subject, abstraction haunts all of us who believe in it. Therefore the only option then is to personally embody the idea of true abstraction as an abstract painter instead of just painting abstractly" - Kevin Pincus