John Gilbert
Artist Statement
There is no more instantly destructive and brilliant thing wrought by human hands then a nuclear device; the light and power it displays is as stunning as it is unsettling. Nuclear weapons destroy, but they can also give the opportunity for a rebirth of nature in the place they have obliterated. The power of fission harnessed in this way demonstrates the capacity of mankind to conquer the natural world. In these paintings, the missile reaching into the heavens echoes this idea. The same missile comes crashing down by the designs of man and destroys, life extinguished at the push of a button. It is a momentary conflagration of heat and flame and gone in the next instance replaced with smoldering remnants.
Fire is a core element in these paintings, the warm colors representing humanities drive to tame the world and possibly even destroy it. Similarly, the cool colors and the browns that mix with them represent the aftermath of destruction and rebirth of life without human interference. Browns and greens mar what would otherwise be mostly pure pigments likening these mucking of colors akin to the fallout of a nuclear bomb. In spite of the damage from the nuclear flame life persists beyond the fire, growing on poisoned ground.