Tempus Fugit

Tempus Fugit 57 x 32″ mixed media Gallery wrapped

Another collaboration with Nick Cerrato, Tempus Fugit (Classical Latin pronunciation: [ˈt̪ɛmpʊs̠ ˈfʊɡit̪]) is a Latin phrase, usually translated into English as “time flies.”  Here, time and temperature are in flux. The collision of fire and water is always a dramatic event. It is often fleeting. The interaction results in the instantaneous destruction of both fire and water. Light and dark, good and evil dichotomies seem to come up often in our work together. Here they collide with violence.

Do you know of an Exhibition Venue that might be interested for our collaboration?

What is our process? With only the scantest idea of a plan, a simple sketch, Tempus Fugit launched with the initial throwing down of the paint, mostly assisted by Robert, but executed solely by Nick. The goal here is to harness Nick’s magnificent gift, which is his freedom and spontaneity. These brilliant sweeps of paint and Nick’s expressive mark making is how the painting begins. Nick’s ability to get out of his own way is off the charts, partly because he has Cerebral Palsy and can only make spontaneous, impulsive marks; unselfconscious marks most abstract expressionists would die to be able to make. The other thing you need to know about Nick is he has an artist’s eye and an artist’s soul. There is no room for the slightest contrivance or fakery. His job is to strike, then get out of the way. All artists are two people: the one who paints and the other to tell him when to stop. Nick is an abstract expressionist, in the purest sense of the word. Robert’s role in this stage is to furnish paint and direct the general contours of the map they have in mind, and otherwise to simply allow Nick to do his magic. There is a general consensus between the two as to when enough is enough at this stage.