The ubiquitous grid - it has long been a fundamental construct of much of our physical world and more recently our digital world. It penetrates and permeates our daily lives, shaping and ordering an ever expanding universe. Intrigued and inspired by the grid, both as a framework and as a digital onslaught, artist John Rudel examines how we navigate our contemporary environment, where interconnectivity and easy dissemination prevail.

Upon viewing Rudel’s large-scale mixed media paintings, one is immediately struck by the prevalence of the grid structure as a dominate aesthetic, efficiently defining compositions of digitally produced imagery, scattered and layered throughout. According to Rudel, “The recurrence of digital image reproduction within my work carries direct connotations of our contemporary culture of sampling, recording, and easy dissemination.”

Quick and instantly gratifying, the production of the digital photographic elements are in sharp contrast to the slow “traditional” studio based painting that is the foundation of the work at large. Rudel notes that it is this contrast that has been “the primary point of contention” within his meta-grid project, adding, “This work is about feeling-out and navigating our changing environment – the ubiquitous, unstoppable, digital onslaught.”