Clifford Singer

Statement

“Geometrical Clouds” is reimagined as a major theme in my life’s work, with the earliest pieces of that name dating back to 1974. This current iteration represents what I call “48 years of process,” which, in principle, references the 19th century Neuberg cubic [named after Joseph Jean Baptiste Neuberg (30 October 1840 – 22 March 1926), a Luxembourger mathematician], with geometry of the plane curve, which describes a correlation between variables based on the usage, expressing a linear relationship when modeled, making a mathematical picture. Collinear points are key. It is my idea to form the Neuberg cubics of a sufficient plane curve that passes through the circular points at infinity.

Artworks

The new “Geometrical Clouds” are produced in laser-cut steel and powder-coated with vibrant colors. Geometrical Clouds is a mathematical perspective to surrealism. I credit Man Ray’s 1938 piece “La Fortune” as an inspiration for this exhibition. The Whitney Museum of American Art describes this piece, showing a billiard table stretching toward the horizon with different colored clouds in the sky, as “a landscape of the mind, a product of the artist’s vivid imagination” that also evokes games of luck and chance. Like other surrealist artists, Man Ray thought of the creative process like a game, espousing a playful approach to problem-solving.