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“When I cast the first piece, there was something about it that made me think of a TV screen. I started thinking about the name ColorStatic being some off-brand TV. I’ve always loved frescoes, I’ve always loved pigmented plaster – the melding of materials into a new surface.” — William Eric Brown

The august National Arts Club recently reopened the newly-renovated lower-level galleries in their glorious landmark Gramercy Park South building in New York City. With a sterling reputation as an institution of classical pedigree, the NAC has been expanding that vision lately with exhibitions and performances that lean more towards the abstract and contemporary. On view now and upcoming are exhibitions of experimental abstract works by William Eric Brown (ColorStatic, through June 28, 2021) and Roger Winter (NYC Under Construction, May 3–28, 2021). A relentless experimenter and deliberative explorer of new processes and color, in this behind-the-scenes video Brown walks us through his studio process for these new works. The galleries are open to the public by appointment only. It’s worth it.

From the National Arts Club:

The National Arts Club presents ColorStatic, an exhibition of work by William Eric Brown through June 3, 2021. ColorStatic is a new body of plaster-based works created by William Eric Brown in 2020. It consists of cast plaster panels and watercolor reinforced with burlap and metal. The process is akin to fresco as the artist pours wet plaster directly onto watercolor, resulting in a skin of color and texture fused to the surface of each panel. The scale and shape of the panels remind the viewer of a television screen, the pigmented surface of static and the linear configuration of a non objective film reel narrative.

Video by our friends at Bower Blue.