Dale Frank’s paintings are experiments in chemical, time and motion studies, developed and refined over his 35-year career. His distinct technique involves layering varnishes, oil paints, lighter fluid, Penetrol and other found elements over long periods, resulting in abstract and psychedelic compositions. Working on a horizontal surface, Frank pours and manipulates his alchemistic mix of materials creating luminous pools of pigment that immediately begin to resist and coalesce through the artist’s performative interventions.
“It is a totally hands on and cerebral way of painting,” declares Frank. The reflective nature of Frank’s recent output extends the stage from the artist to the viewer, the reflectivity of the work captures the onlooker in the performative act of viewing. This effect acts to blur the lines between art action and life action, adding poetic pertinence to the quotidian, an effect which is continued through Frank’s titling of the works with invented or overheard phrases that read like short stories or snippets of conversations.
