„Yet man is not only a creature of thought, but also of feeling. He is a whole, a union of various intimately connected powers and the work of art must address itself to this whole, to this rich unity, this simple variety in him.“

J.W. von Goethe from „The collector and his circle“, 1798/99.

„Morphogenesis of the Infinite“ at the Galerie Reinhard Hauff is the first solo exhibition by Australian born, Berlin artist Dominic Wood. The show runs from March 26 to May 22, 2010, and consists of paintings, sculptures and drawings.

The dense paintings by Dominic Wood are created on the floor. The painter places himself within the painting, so to speak, and develops its surface working from the upper towards the lower edges of the composition. The arrangement is slowly constructed, like a building, which grows from heaven into earth. There is no retouching. The artist immerses himself into an ongoing process of adding brush strokes and paint layers, which create infinite depth through numerous colour layers. Wood’s ink drawings also retain a sensation of flow. The artist applies ink to the paper to compress and solidify, creating depth and space.

The sculptures are composed of joined wooden elements – originally squared timber. The individual elements are roughly hewn into shape with an axe, with the traces of the wood cutting tool apparent all over. The traces from the axe enhance the organic wood grain patterns and bring out a host of intriguing compositions within the structure when observed from up close. The sculptural elements are also created on the floor where they are cut, assembled with the occasional addition of smaller, natural branches and placed on pedestals.

The creative process itself is a central feature in all three disciplines of Wood’s work. The aura of his trance-like practice connects the drawings with the paintings and with the sculptures, and establishes a relationship between them. This is perhaps an unusual observation. But not more provocative than to speak of one’s own or a perceived temperature, or than to quote Goethe. Dominic Wood demonstrates the relevance of the creative process itself – be it in a drawing, a painting or a sculpture – by making the intensity of the touch or hand of the artist visible. The hand (touch) executes what the eye (sight) dictates. Hand and spirit infuse forms, colours, surfaces and layers with meaning and expression. The ripple effect from impulse to the trace on the surface lead to a kind of meditative condition, which the artist doesn’t repress but consciously experiences. This is most apparent in the drawings: the touch of the pen on the paper moves through a detector connecting brain and hand. The hand becomes a seismometer. It transfers waves, feelings and expression received from the headquarters – in a literal sense! It is understandable that Wood refers to his artistic style as „Romantic Abstraction“.


(Caroline Nathusius, Cologne, March 2010)