The work shown in this show flows with different content through the theme of transformation starting with Gilbert’s initial catch of the image and then his manipulation to bring it to a final effective result. In the piece “Three Differences”, the tops of houses and the sky are presented only slightly changed so that they retain some of their fundamental reality. However, in “Difference #1”, suddenly a variation appears where the shapes of the clouds with enhanced colors bleed over to wash out any depiction of the houses whatsoever, creating a startling modification living as its own unique self. These images then are in contrast with a piece like “Crossing”, an abstraction that starts with the formality of sharp lines and shapes but is given over to the altering brightness of color that carries the viewer to new opportunities of warm reds and black lines operating simultaneously with blue cools in diamonds. So many of the works follow this thread of expertise in craft, illustrated through change, to create a startling, overwhelming, beauty.
In this, his eighth solo show at Viridian, Gilbert brings fresh light to his photographs and his artistic mission. The combinations of digitally sculpted works of realistic objects and landscapes with images of pure abstraction in luminescent color raise this body of work to artistic heights embodying Wally’s masterful techniques in image manipulation with an eye that, in its first layer of the image, can see the possibility of a richness and depth that defies simple notions of what can be mined from what is understood.
