G.R. Thompson exhibit “Dark Matter” on display at Thrasher January 1 – February 28, 2022

Artist reception 4:00-6:00 on Saturday, January 15, 2022. Enter through the gallery/office door. Cash bar available.

 Artist Statement:

I have long maintained that “art is the manifestation of philosophy.” As such, I believe that art must show us something that we otherwise would not see.

I studied Fine Art at Concordia College, Ann Arbor (1987) and hold a Master of Arts in Communication from Seton Hall University (2012). Over time I have developed a style that can best be described with an analogy – Dark Matter. Hence the name of this show.

The universe is filled with that which cannot be seen or sensed in any way. In the world of science, “dark matter” is one such thing. It cannot be seen, touched tasked or measured in any way. Yet, without it all of the math used to quantify our universe falls apart.

Physicists believe that as much as 85% of the universe is made of such stuff. There are many physicists today who are trying to find the subatomic particles that make up this dark matter. None have yet succeeded. Yet they believe that it is there – so much so that they add this to the equations that define how they understand how all things are and came to be.

Here is how “Dark Matter” explains the philosophy behind my art. One cannot look at the complexity of our universe, our earth, our myriad forms of life without coming to the conclusion that there is a universal force that brought it all together.

Aristotle calls this the prime mover and says, “it is evident that there is some substance which is eternal and immovable and separate from sensible things.” The writer of Psalms said about 700 years before Aristotle that “the heavens declare the glory of God.”

Within my works you will find evidence of the “immovable and eternal thing.” This is shown in geometric rectangles and spirals that shape and often shift the colors and spaces around them. Aristotle would say that perfect beauty and goodness do exist in the beginning and that they extend from the prime mover. My works are a search for that beauty and goodness in the visible world, its order, its form, its nature.

It is my hope that you will see this in my work. That you will see within the artifacts of human activity, the trees, grass, corn, barns the overarching hand that make them – beautiful.