Charles Sommer

Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY

Artist statement

The work I am creating is an investigation into an alternate universe and world of my own construction. With drawing as my point of departure I invent my own cosmology abstracted from science fiction, unexplained phenomena, queerness, masculinity, as well as architecture and the history of abstract art. The work I am making is often obsessive in regards to control and compositional balance, often utilizing a set of rules and rigid visual vocabulary. The work connects disparate elements and ideas about space and how it can be depicted, shifting between representational and queer coded abstraction. I am interested in the intersections between physical and psychological spaces while primarily focusing on the use of landscapes in order to solicit otherworldly associations. My practice has consisted of a wide range of mediums to convey the ideas I am interested in, including painting, drawing, 3D animation, sculpture and installation . Most recently the work has consisted almost exclusively of graphite drawings. By restricting my material usage I am able to focus on the language of form, composition, and the associations those elements can conjure. Polishing and embossing the paper with a mechanical graphite pencil and powdered graphite allows me to explore the material for its inherent matte and reflective qualities. Thinking of my most recent drawings as autonomous objects rather than images allows the work to exist not just as representations of a world but rather the world...

Artwork