The Shape of Things to Come

American artist Mernet Larsen, based in Florida and New York, uses three-dimensional, geometric shapes to create a sense of volume in her paintings. In her 2005 Cube, above, the figure on the left seems closer to the viewer than the figure on the right. The skewed perspective and blocky shapes highlight the idea that the world depicted here is artificial. Rather than represent reality, Larsen adds a hint of self-awareness to the scene. The figure on the right has drawn a cube, a reference to the shape that repeats throughout the composition. Where else in the scene can you find cubes and other related shapes?

Mernet Larsen is an American artist. She uses three-dimensional, geometric shapes to create volume in her paintings. In her 2005 Cube, above, the figures are made of three-dimensional forms. The unnatural perspective shows that the painting is not realistic. Instead it depicts an artificial world. The figure on the right has drawn a cube. It’s a reference to the blocky shapes throughout the painting. Where else in the scene can you find cubes?

As a child, Anselm Reyle (AN-selm RYE-leh) wasn’t allowed to do paint-by-numbers. His parents said he should make his own shapes. “But I always found it fascinating how the different areas fit together,” he says.

In his 2010 Hamster, above, the German artist plays with the tension between the abstract shapes and the figure. Reyle contrasts flat color with rich textures. He even leaves some of the shapes blank, drawing attention to the numbers.

As a child, Anselm Reyle liked to do paint-by-numbers. He liked how the abstract shapes fit together to form something recognizable.

In his 2010 Hamster, above, the German artist plays with this idea. He paints shapes that would be abstract on their own. Together the shapes, made of flat colors and rich textures, form an animal.

Jim Lambie, an artist from Scotland, uses unexpected materials to add color, light, and dimension to his works. His 2020 sculpture Shine Your Light, above, is a modern take on traditional stained glass. Lambie arranges sunglass lenses in an organic form. The lenses are all different shapes and colors, but their reflective quality creates a unified design.

“The shapes [in my sunglass pieces] often grow from loose, cloudlike clusters or starlike constellations,” says Lambie. “Shine Your Light takes that further and is arranged as a starburst, radiating outward, like light itself.”

Scottish artist Jim Lambie uses unexpected materials to add color to his work. His 2020 sculpture Shine Your Light, above, is a modern take on stained glass. Lambie made the sculpture out of sunglass lenses. The lenses are all different shapes and colors, but he arranges them in a unified organic form.

“The shapes often grow from loose, cloud-like clusters,” Lambie says. “Shine Your Light takes that further and is arranged as a starburst, radiating outward, like light itself.”

California-born American artist Pae White explores physical space in large-scale multimedia works that marry art and design. She developed her 2017 Spacemanship, above, for a museum in Germany. White uses shape, color, line, and pattern to create unity and balance throughout the 45-foot-tall installation.

Repeating shapes and patterns are easily visible from different vantage points across the gallery’s four floors. The title refers to the way the viewer’s experience of the installation depends on their viewing position. “It’s all about how this piece changes if you were to be floating in space like a spaceman,” says White. “And because of the architecture, you kind of are.”

American artist Pae White makes large-scale, multimedia works that explore physical space. Her 2017 installation Spacemanship, above, is 45 feet tall. White uses shape, color, line, and pattern to create unity.

The repeating shapes and patterns are visible from four floors in the building. But the viewer’s experience depends on where they’re standing. White says it’s as if you were “floating in space like a spaceman. And because of the architecture, you kind of are.”