Alien Pools

Andrea Way began incorporating complex patterns in her work in 1981. She admitted “What I wanted to do was create things based on systems and codes, the DNA strands of life. The work is about…the nature of being in existence. It’s an endless question because evolution doesn’t stop.” In1997 Way dropped ink into a pool of water on paper which then later dried. She explained about her process, “I’m working with gravity and that thrill(s) me. Gravity is such a major force. It’s one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. How does it work? Why is there gravity? After that I began experimenting with ways to make the gravity pools deeper. I did some on Mylar and then I tried them on plywood and really liked the results.” The basic and somewhat random act of creating ink pools which vary in shape, color, texture, and pattern led to Way’s creation of visually compelling abstractions. Alien Pools reflects Way’s interest in allowing chance to alter a series of prescribed systems to produce beautiful overall designs.

For Alien Pools Way began with a large egg shape pool of brown and red ink mixed with water held in place by rubber cement and allowed to dry. She densely placed gray droplets over this initial ink pool and then painted three bands of cadmium red followed by a band of black. The bands radiate out from the painting’s center. She assigned to each band a specifically sized dotted ellipse pattern. Once this satisfactory pattern was in place, Way introduced a new web of layers and marks, creating another system to fill the entire surface of the work. She allowed her prescribed pattern to deviate, adding to the bands solid ellipse shapes that vary in size and radiate out from the center. A thin red line matrix was then incorporated into the composition. Seemingly random placed red gravity pool droplets were added over the solid ellipses. Way enjoys the rhythm of her intricate patterns. She is known to spend hundreds of hours on a work and understanding her process allows for a better appreciation of her overall approach to painting. “Doing the work is the most important thing for me. I play with materials like a very crude scientist. There’s really a sense of investigating •rather than any idea of self-expression.” Alien Pools is the second work and the first painting by the artist to enter The Phillips Collection.