Grayson Chandler Telos: After Thought Hypnotic Watercolors at Deborah Colton Gallery

Grayson-Chandler-Basin-2020-Watercolor-and-Gouache-on-Paper-12x9-in

“Ontological” is a doozy of a word. Associated with being, existence, and reality, the word popped up in Deborah Colton Gallery’s press release to suggest a meaty philosophical notion is behind Grayson Chandler’s watercolor images.

Even more tantalizing is the Greek word “telos” in the exhibition title, but it’s best to fortify yourself with a stiff drink before chasing down the Aristotelean rabbit-hole. Telos is a fundamental notion in Aristotle’s Doctrine of Final Cause, in simplest of terms, objects in nature are intrinsically driven toward their ultimate purpose or full potential. The cerebral tone of Chandler’s artist statement makes it difficult to determine if he courts or rejects Aristotle’s telos. He does say, however, that greater truth is found beyond purpose.

What is clear is that Chandler takes nature as his inspirational starting point, then deliciously distorts forms with washy brushstrokes and mesmerizing translucent colors. It’s also clear he filters sensory information through emotions and the imagination to try to reach to the essence of things. Grayson Chandler – Telos: After Thought can be seen at Deborah Colton Gallery through September 12, 2020. You have the option of online viewing, or gallery visits by appointment.

If Aristotle’s Theory of Ideas or Forms is bewildering, G. Spencer Brown’s Laws Of Form, a cosmological treatise prominently referenced on Chandler’s website, will give you a headache. We are, it presumably asserts, made of the same stuff as the rest of the cosmos, and this interconnectedness expands our perception of form, a view of reality that seems to cohere with Hindu scripture and quantum physics. Although it’s best to blow off all the bloody reading, and simply take in Chandler’s hypnotic forms.

This artist is young (b. 1994), only a couple of years out of the University of North Texas, by way of Lanier Middle School and Lamar High School here in our hood. Following several killer solo exhibitions at Deborah Colton Gallery, Chandler will be included in Colton’s October/November 2020 group exhibition in Doha, Qatar, which debuts in Houston in early 2021.

What's Your Reaction?

Excited

Happy

In Love

Not Sure

Silly