THE SHOW: “Grid, Pattern, Surface: Image as Process,” Frankenberger Art Gallery, 2nd floor of Geary Student Union, University of Charleston, through Oct. 6.
ARTIST: 38 works by Thad Settle

By Amy Williams with Charly Jupiter Hamilton

Thad Settle’s exhibit at the University of Charleston drew a small, but nice crowd for his opening and artist talk on Tuesday, September 6. His Buddhist leanings (he’s a founding member of the Meditation Circle of Charleston) and employment in the telecommunications field have played a role in the focus of his art: a kind of Zen grid-ism.

Settle worked in cubicles and doodled hundreds of drawings, or as he calls them, “paintings” on Post-it notes. Although not in the current exhibit, there is evidence of Settle’s interest in grids throughout most of his work. In “Heart Sutra: Indra’s Net” Settle combines acrylic, metal leaf and wood on canvas as a reflection of the Buddhist idea on the interconnectedness of all things. While this was Charly’s favorite, I enjoyed the figure drawings–they were still tight, but freer and wilder in a way with a good use of color.

Some of the pieces were reminiscent of mini-Rothkos, little squares of color. Settle’s work is more of a pictogram, where you see pictures within the pictures. Two silver acrylic paintings caught the eye of our companions at the exhibit. One companion wished they’d seen more of a Buddhist influence in the show. Charly summed it up well, “Here is this artist, a family man working in office cubicles, doodling hundreds of grids on Post-it notes, being a part-time Buddha with a fanny pack and painting meditational-like grids. Is it life imitating art or art imitating life?”

CHARLEY SAYS:
“‘I’ve gone from a size 6 to a size 12 in 5 months because I quit smoking,’ I hear as I walk into an art show with some of 30 years of a person’s art life on the wall. I just get a faith in resurrection that a beautiful life lies buried somewhere in the application of paint on canvas. And like Nelson’s captains in the battles of the Napoleanic wars, I feel that the individual’s uncompromising pursuit of the end that will satisfy him will also serve the general good. Strawberries and chocolates… I gotta go!”

AMY CONCLUDES:
For original art (and at a reasonable prices, as these works are also for sale) this is a great show to visit. And it’s a nice meditative way to spend some time.

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