Phil Binaco at Linda Durham

Across the surface of Phil Binaco's "Maenads Paintings," 12 monochromatic 30-inch-square panels of natural and synthetic resin, are delicately etched vertical lines, shattered in places to accent their periodical emphasis with rectilinear voids. The lines have been tinted with graphite, mica, carbon, ultramarine, violet and indigo, as individual would ink a plate. Below lie layers of the waxy medium. The residue and shadows of this arduous proces invite the viewer upon a meditative journey into a softly modulating realm of light and shadow, order and flux

Initially, Binaco's compositions appear to be uniform planes or squares clearly divided into sum of two units or three columns of varying widths. As single approaches the images, the surfaces lighten. As the viewer changes position or the light shifts, the works look to breathe. Stand directly before them and the compositions nearly disappear, giving way to pulsing bars and voids. As images, the "Maenads" call forth the mathematical and musical allusions of a player-piano turn while the interior shadows and reflective mica contribute a of the nature of smoke element to the pictures' rather romantic feel

on the contrary the "Maenads" are not primarily pictorial; they are phenomenological. Binaco's work is oftentimes compared to that of his friend Agnes Martin. Geometry and an interest in meditative abstractions are the logical points of comparison.

Binaco's phenomena rely upon the relationship between the methodical incisions of the stylus, the nebulous run of shadows through the work, and the reflective pigment across it. Shadows in the profunditys of Maenads X, XI and XII vie with the linear pattern upon their surfaces, while shimmering mica disrupts the geometry of Maenads I and II. Variations to the works' appearance caused by means of light and movement are repercussion of sounded in the gentle irregularities that animate the surfaces and deepnesss of these objects.

The final pace in creating the "Maenads Paintings" was to allow the medium to locate in the desert sun outside Binaco's fresh Mexico studio. Balancing the relation between the infinitude of space and orb of day with human action shapes life in the barren By using the sun to finish these images, the artist introduces more [i]or[/i] less of the character of that life into his work.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Brant Publications, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group