Blue Matter 1

About Blue Matter 1

Growing up on the Ottawa River, Shayne Dark has long been inspired by the natural world that surrounded him—its myriad of shapes, patterns, forms and colours. In this new intriguing series of wall reliefs, the Kingston based sculptor has once again turned to nature for inspiration. Hand formed of plaster, fiberglass, resin and flocking, Darks’ wall sculptures are organic in shape, and highly textured. His signature vivid colour palette—bright blue for this piece declares the work as wholly contemporary.

“The forms the series references are tree growths, wood burls, twisted and irregular in shapes that are often covered in a mossy growth of various colours. The exterior of tree burls have a tactile quality and I am interested in the rough, intricate twists and rope-like bark. The works in the series are abstract representations of the cavities, fibrous ropey curves and markings on the exterior.” Shayne Dark

“With his new explorations, the artist is therefore in search of an elementary and universal communication between beings and the environments in which they evolve. It is by working on shapes and colors in their immanent visual qualities and their tactility that he uses art to transform these relationships.” Katrie Chagnon, Art Historian

He was the artist in residence at the Brooklyn botanic garden in 2016 following a successful residency at the Albright Knox and Buffalo botanical garden in 2015 and a feature article on his work in Sculpture magazine. At Art Basel in Toronto, Dark was named one of the top ten artists to watch. In 2017, Dark had a solo exhibition at New York’s Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the following year he was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 2022, Dark exhibited at the Cloud 9 Eco-Art Festival at No. 9 Gardens in the Rideau Lakes, Ontario. His work can be found in numerous private, corporate, and public collections.