2017 Catalogue Archive

The milky gray and scattered whites of Douglas Leon Cartmel’s Interstellar # 1 suggest some type of natural phenomena: stars, shadows, or dust floating in rays of light. Part of his White Noise series, the composition is based on visual models from graphic mapping of atmospheric spectral data. The work reads as both abstract and representational, and is intended to bring up questions of authorship since the structure is determined by scientific data and not the artist’s imagination. The muted tones and gentle brushstrokes of this work can also be seen in his seascapes and abstractions. Based in Dallas, Cartmel’s paintings have been included in exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles.