Rick Vian
The Growth Habit
January 27 - February 18, 2023
Opening Reception: January 27, 2023, 6 - 9 PM
Artist Talk & Closing Reception: February 18, 2023, 4 - 6 PM
Artist Statement
Michigan: The North Woods
“The Growth Habit” is a dendrological term. (dendrology: the scientific study of trees) The growth habit of a tree determines how it is going to grow: the angles at which the branches will grow, the radius of the curves of the branches, the shapes of the spaces between the branches etc. The growth habit then, determines how the tree will actually “design” itself and come to look the way it does. When we look at an oak tree, for instance, we recognize it as an oak tree because of its growth habit. We can say “This is an oak tree. It can be no other.”
I invented a growth habit of my own with which to develop shapes and designs for painting. My growth habit tells me, “I can use only these angles. My lines will curve only like so” This gives the shapes a family resemblance even though they may be very different. I look at the shapes between the lines, combine them and change them again and again, forming designs and compositions until the painting is “right”. Because of the growth habit of the painting we can say, “This painting is a Vian. It can be no other.”
Detroit: The Industrial Aesthetic
Shapes developed within my growth habit take on the characteristics of a life spent living and working in the Motor City. Many years working in factories and painting their walls, surfaces, and machines have left their mark on me. Industrial colors, iron ore and rust, the shapes of tools and dies, the sweeping aerodynamic curves of car design, the OSHA Safety Standard colors themselves, combine with the naturally inspired growth habit resulting in this curious hybrid, which is my painting.
