Artist Holton Rower is constantly innovating, shifting, moving his work into new territory, too fast even to get an accurate answer  to the question “What’s he into these days?” We’ve marveled at his works out of locks, money, fish hooks for years…Lately, we’ve been smitten with his Pour Paintings (which may in fact be sculptures), cup after cup of vividly-colored acrylic paint poured over stacked structures made of plywood, to make liquid, multiplying patterns that are truly delicious to look at. As one critic noted:

“This work is troubling. I want to lick it.”

This video by  Dave Kaufman is a montage from Pours being made as Rower choreographs his assistants’ and colors, one moving in with a styrofoam cup of a new color to replace one who has just carefully poured a custom-mixed color onto the tall wooden structure. The patterns made are luminous and unpredictable, the results unbelievably sensual. It is mesmerizing.

Kaufman has a YouTube channel of videos of various aspects of Rower’s work. Here’s a video of a single “Tall” painting being made, a half hour or so of constant movement compressed into 3:12 minutes.

via OpenCulture

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2 replies on “holton rower’s pour paintings: intention + chance, in color

  1. It is also worth mentioning that Holton Rower is the grandson of the artist Alexander Calder.

  2. Does that information make you see his work differently?

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