Just the fracts
A brand-new collection of expressive abstract paintings by Astoria resident Darren Orange is coming to the Runyan Gallery of the Newport Visual Arts Center. The show “Fractal Interscape,” opens this Saturday, Oct. 1, with a talk from the artist at 2 pm.
Orange has spent the majority of the past 20 years absorbing and projecting the coastal landscape, seascape and atmosphere of Astoria in his paintings. The atmospheric and geological drama of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean merging is a source of constant inspiration.
“The light and color of the Northwest keeps me tethered to a suggestion of landscape and emotional interscape,” he said. “Fractal shards reference experience and sense of place.”
While Orange paints primarily with oil, he has a history of incorporating nontraditional materials like cement and burlap into his paintings and has also worked with bronze.
He describes his paintings as gritty, layered, sometimes-romanticized reflections of place or atmosphere. Bold contrasting colors are applied with trowels, scrapers and his hands. Brushes tend to be too fussy for Orange, as he is commonly producing more than 20 large-scale paintings simultaneously. Many are fluid, not preconceived and come to fruition quickly with intense energy. He compares the intentional placement of color at later stages of his process to the slow methodical moves of a chess game.
Orange grew up on the eastern slopes of the Central Washington Cascades. In 1999, he earned a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Western Washington University and went on to exhibit his work in galleries across Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Florida and New York. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including the Ford Family Foundation Residency Grant Award in 2013 and the Oregon Governor’s Office Exhibit in 2019.
“Fractal Interscape” will be on display through Nov. 27. The Newport Visual Arts Center is located at 777 NW Beach Drive and is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 4 pm. For more information, go to coastarts.org. or call 541-265-6540.