Momentum Artist: Trent Lawson

Trent Lawson, Oklahoma City

Rorschacus Rex

Mixed Media

Q: What was your concept(s) behind your work(s)?

TL: Generally with my work, I create random lines in the surface of a painting and use those lines as the basis for my imagery. I just stare, turn the canvas, stare, turn the canvas until I see something I want to bring out, and then stare some more. Rorschacus Rex is a bit more abstract than I usually do. I was just bringing out certain shapes and imagery that never really created a large whole. When finished with a piece, I leave it up to viewer interpretation. I like hearing the stories and images people see in my work. A successful piece to me is one in which 10 different people have 10 different interpretations.

Q: Explain the technique and/or process you used for the piece(s).

TL: I play a lot with texture. For the piece accepted into Momentum, I stretched the canvas with a black fabric I found in the clearance section of Hancock's that I liked the texture of. It had a kind of fine grid pattern. It's primed with a kind of brittle gesso that will crack, so there's that texture. I laid various strings in the wet gesso that formed the basis of the imagery, leaving tracks and texture and little fibers that collect paint. It was painted and scrubbed and probably sanded and painted some more. I paint with acrylics that are put on in a series of thin washes so as to hide the brush strokes.

Momentum Tulsa 2009 includes visual art by artists aged 30 and younger. The exhibition is free and open at Living Arts, 307 E Brady, Tulsa, until October 24. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Sunday 1-5 pm, until 9 pm on Thursday and Friday.

Curators Scott Perkins & Frank Wick selected 93 artworks by 66 artists from all over the state for the exhibition. Also, three Spotlight artists created bodies of work on display, Nick Bayer, Dustin Boise, and Emily Kern. Intern Ashley Romano interviewed the artists to learn about their creative process. Watch for more profiles throughout the run of the exhibition.