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AboutRoland Thompson is a visual artist who uses painting has his primary medium. His paintings are generally abstract and composed on non-rectangular panels of aluminum. He describes his work as being "a visualization of a network of connections between people, places, and things across time and space."
Thompson was born in Utah, where he continues to live and work. He received a BFA from Brigham Young University in 1998 and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2001. While at VCU he was mentored by the artists Shirley Kaneda and James Siena. Thompson has been featured in notable group exhibitions, including Random Order, White Columns, New York (2003); Reductive, Mahan Gallery, Ohio (2006); Post-Geometric, ParisCONCRET, Paris (2012); Friendly Takeover- Artists Show Their Collection (Katharina Grosse), Marta Herford, Germany (2014); and a solo exhibit titled Recur at CUAC, Utah (2011). His work experience includes adjunct teaching at Virginia Union University 2002-2003, Brigham Young University 2003-Current, and Utah Valley University 2012-Current. |
Artist Statement |
My artwork initially started as an interest in the semiotic function of maps. I was drawn to the way that maps are highly abstract yet are perceived to indicate specificity. Over the years the work has shifted from ready-made maps to the cartographic process of discerning or apprehending the world. The information diagrammed is based less on external information derived from physical geography, and more from my internal position in relation to locality. Advanced visual culture, idealized people of social power and mobility, and the promises of Modernity act as points of departure and destination. They are momentary focal points that draw attention away from a previous point. What develops is a network of linear associations drawn by shifting foci of perception. The momentary objects of regard are never manifested in the diagram, but the relation between them. This is the principle reason that the structure of the artwork becomes the format. There is no picture plane or form, only color to make the lines visible. The resultant map becomes a history of connections that quantifies my desire to perceive and understand the world at once.
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