Rebecca Layton

Region: West

This series of drawings plays with the figurative power of large tectonic forms. In New York, I explored the industrial relics that still surround the city, the looming outcroppings of warehouses and factories that emerge from the ground and cut the plane of the sky with their angular profiles. Since moving to Texas, I have been similarly struck by the arcing monumentalism of the highway overpass. Its vast perspectival swoop terrifies me in the way that a tsunami might.

My process starts with defining the edge, plotting the line of separation between figure and ground. Then I compress the remaining information and build up fields of densely layered pencil lines to form silhouetted shapes. I look for a tension between the looming mass of negative white space and the distinctly hand-drawn texture, conjuring a landscape that can be controlled and formalized. The decorative aspect is key for me; color, form, and technique merge together and result in an almost sculptural, tactile composition.

Appearances