Aaron Glasson

Lives and works in Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico

Artist statement

Aaron Glasson (b. 1983, Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice examines overlapping concepts within ecology, mysticism and theology. Interested in how we express these interrelations in physical forms, he produces objects of veneration for both the tangible living world and its invisible influences. Through a combination of field observation and introspection, Glasson creates plein air sketches and gouache studies during time spent in the wilderness, which he then develops into compositions on canvas in the studio. His process emphasizes material accumulation: natural pigments, oil paint, sand and beeswax are applied in multiple layers to create textured surfaces that negotiate the relationship between geometry and organic form. The resulting imagery blends conventions of historical landscape painting with abstracted grids, lattices, biomorphic entities and spatial voids, representing the often unseen and overlooked networks of relation existing all around us. By filtering living systems through this lens of abstraction, Glasson engages the legacy of early-20th century Modernists such as Hilma af Klint, Isamu Noguchi and Agnes Pelton combined with extensive research into the works of writers, theologians and environmentalists including Simone Weil, Rainer Maria Rilke, Bayo Akomolafe, Martin Shaw and Joanna Macy. At the core of their theories and Glasson's work is a shared belief that overcoming the current poly-crisis will...

Artwork