Artist Talk - Science FictionS

Doug Bosch & Richard Whitten

May 20th, 6:00 pm

This exhibition explores the aesthetics of science and mechanics translated into sculpture and painting.
Doug Bosch and Richard Whitten have created an exhibition that allows the viewer to witness the metamorphosis of
dry textbook science into artistic inventions that are playful, elegant and intellectually exciting.

Richard Whitten’s artistic production is about “intellectual play.” Intellectual play, in his opinion, is not only the basis of scientific investigation, but is also synonymous to fascination and delight. His paintings are meant to be games or toys in themselves through which he investigates the science of sight and understanding. The challenge for the viewers is, without knowing “the rules”, to propel the image into motion through sight and thought alone.” Two types of “games” have developed in his paintings. In the first, he constructs a world of mysterious architecture populated by fictional machines or scientific instruments–often having the appearance of toys—that await the touch of the viewer “to bring them to life.” In the second, more recent series, the painting’s surface acts as fictional game board, and the viewer is challenged to move a hovering ball (through imagination) into place.

Doug Bosch tinkers with the artifacts of early science. Sparked by and taking cues from antique scientific instruments he creates original hybrids of art and science that ignite our imaginations. Looking at 19th century instruments created for the experimentation of electromagnetic principles he is playing with scale, material and innuendo to bring the stuff of hard science into the arena of art. Amplifying, exaggerating and distorting the look of these historical references he moves them beyond their functional, scientific state and argues that the enigma of early science has a fascinating visual meaning. Toying with the tradition of how scientific artifacts are displayed in museums Bosch has placed the small sculptures under the care of a glass case, intimating a functionality while framing them as objets d’art.