Exhibition: February 10 – April 10, 2025
Gallery Hours:
Monday – Thursday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm or by appointment
Admission is free
The Department of Art and Art History is delighted to present Velo, a series of new works by J. David Carlson.
In his recent two-dimensional work, Carlson focuses on the structural design of sports fields, tennis courts, and, for the Velodrome series, bicycle race tracks. The intersection of aerodynamic athleticism and architectural ingenuity becomes the perfect stage for an energetic recurring composition. Carlson’s use of multiple color variations from piece to piece creates perceptual environments and brings to mind Joseph Albers’ painting series, “Homage to the Square,” in which Albers explored color theory through hard-edge juxtapositions of flat hues.
In these works, we see a tightly cropped section of a bicycle track from an aerial view. Carlson further abstracts this repeating composition by using a strong diagonal axis that compresses the positive space of the race lanes between the negative space of the track’s center and the panel’s upper right corner. This format heightens the pictorial tension and alludes to the angular velocity of a high-speed turn. One can imagine bicyclists with razor-sharp skills racing around the steep embankments of the velodrome – lap after lap the riders simultaneously experience a surging pace, hyper-visual awareness, and emotional exhilaration.
When viewing two Velodrome works side by side the compositional echo is quickly recognized; however, the more one looks back-and-forth vibrations start to emerge as each piece’s individual color relationships start to advance and recede. In Velodrome Green Peach 2024, three blue and blue-gray lane lines on the peach track seem to sink into a deeper spatial plane as they orbit a grassy green center. Amid the cool concentric circuits is a bright yellow band; in racing rules, this ring is the sprinter’s path. This intense hot color seems to hover above the peach field like a glowing halo illuminating the green area. Velodrome Canary Yellow Cream 2024 has a different feel. It’s more cohesive with subtle shifts of earthy yellows, pale chartreuses, and warm grays; these gentler chromatic transitions of larger shapes may suggest a slower, warm-up or cool-down lap. Rendered in a radioactive orange this track’s sprinter line boldly announces its presence, and it appears to be a levitating force field protecting a precious inner sanctuary.
The West Gallery is located on the second floor of the Abraham Campus Center at 2000 Second Street on the La Verne campus.
For more information, please visit https://artsci.laverne.edu/art/exhibition or contact Dion Johnson – djohnson@laverne.edu
Department of Art and Art History | University of La Verne | 1950 Third Street | La Verne, California | 91750
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Velodrome Aquamarine Pink 2024 color pencil on board 8 x 8 inches |
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Velodrome Green Peach 2024 color pencil on board 8 x 8 inches |
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Velodrome Lemon Yellow Spanish Orange 2024 color pencil on board 8 x 8 inches |
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Velodrome Canary Yellow Cream 2024 color pencil on board 8 x 8 inches |