John Rowland
Frequencies

April 20 - May 25, 2024

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 20, 6-8 pm

(Cass Corridor Location)

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Matéria Gallery is pleased to present Frequencies, a solo exhibition of all new paintings by John Rowland.

The twelve new abstract paintings included in the presentation, all created applying various tools on medium-to-large-scale custom wood panels, oscillate between light and darkness, and are a result of the artist’s visual reflections on modern society’s relationship with frequencies.

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Rowland ponders the fact that we live in a time where our bodies and minds are inundated by an unprecedented number of frequencies including electromagnetic waves and technological frequencies, in addition to the increase in countless stimuli such as light, sound (noise), wind, people, temperature, odors, in a constant exchange in which we are both receivers and transmitters.

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According to the artist, some frequencies are more abstract than others. Occasionally people refer to the ‘energy’ of a room or situation. These ‘energies’ may be abstract with no way to scientifically measure them, however, they are no less real to the human experience. Spiritual matters reside here. These abstract frequencies are the subject of Rowland’s new paintings.

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Rowland’s abstract compositions, arising from his own self-investigations, are a visual invitation to “tune” into our own inner frequencies, and observe the balance between organization and chaos, connectivity and disconnection, in pursuit of a more conscious participation in the natural interplay between our inner lives and our external environment.

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JOHN ROWLAND

 

John Rowland received a BFA from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, and has held his studio 

practice in the Detroit area for the past three decades. Recent exhibitions include solo presentations at Susanne Hilberry Gallery, Ferndale, MI, in 2011 and 2007, a two-person exhibition with artist Addie Langford at Hill Gallery in 2019, as well as group presentations 3 Detroit, at Hill Gallery in 2017, and Some Assembly Required in 2015. Rowland's work is part of several private and public collections, including the Henry Ford Health and St. John Providence Health System.

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