Josh Masais's Bio
MEDIUM: Acrylic
Artistic interests include flat and constructed artworks that focus on spatial interactions between
figure and ground. Shifts from pictorial flatness to depth are created through manipulation of
mark making, color, line, translucency, opacity, and materiality. Unions of opposites result when
the variables activate one another through placement, tension, and overlapping. My 2-D constructions are voluntarily subject to the constraints of a flat surface. The constructions
apply a similar spatial language as the flat paintings and drawings, but with found materials that
carry their own associations. For instance, the broken perimeter edge is intended to break from
traditional painting and raise dialog with materiality and dimension. These two formats function
as an unresolved conversation between the 2-D and 3-D. The works on panel and paper influence the constructions, and the constructions “talk back” to the 2-D works. Neither can fully achieve what the other does, and a conversation remains in flux between the two. I work directly, embracing moments that lend themselves to visual intrigue, while thinking about what can be considered a painting and what defines the picture plane – simple questions with complex answers.