James Gortner
Ground Breakage II → Bell Labs NYC (2024-ongoing)
The poetry of these works lies not only in their materials and technique but also in the location of their creation: the former Bell Laboratories in Manhattan. This historic site, the birthplace of groundbreaking inventions such as nuclear bombs and energy, the transistor radio, lasers, C coding, digital cameras, and solar power, provides a rich contextual backdrop. I apply recycled colors directly to the old laboratory floor before reversing them onto canvas, along with some residual layers of older factory paint and detritus. My dried paint, along with the existing factory paint, forms a physical memory of the floor. By applying my painting innovation here, I echo an abstraction of time and proximity to a place where these world-changing innovations were founded over the past century.
What sets these paintings apart is their ability to embody the spirit of formal abstraction and conceptual art while remaining intriguingly representational. They evoke images of old tile floors or ancient mosaic walls, straddling the line between realism and abstraction. While bearing little resemblance to the actual floors from which they were molded, these paintings offer a trompe l’oeil-like, realistic presentation of an imaginary location.
While Bell Labs’ inventions have undeniably advanced society, they have also contributed to current environmental and wellness challenges. The brightly colored and abstracted Bell Labs grid present in each piece serves as both an homage to and a critique of our 20th century’s linear view of Art and Science history. By drawing a poetic line through time and disciplines, this body of work celebrates human endeavor and our ongoing quest to better understand the universe, both within and beyond conventional frameworks.
Landscape With Universal Windows, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Textbook Exploding Meme, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Renew You, 2025
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (painted on excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
(Private Collection)
JAMES GORTNER
Dream Calculator, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Dream Calculator, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Cats Game Of Chance, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 27 in x 36 in / 68.5 cm x 91.5 cm
Super Computer, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
(Private Collection)
Information Ocean, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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The Hottest Flame, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
(Private Collection)
Twinning With Screaming Demons, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 27 in x 36 in / 68.5 cm x 91.5 cm
JAMES GORTNER
Dragon Inside Ten Thousand Suns, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Dragon Inside Ten Thousand Suns, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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