Rocky Horton: Artist Statement

In my most recent studio practice, I have begun developing a body of work that addresses the precarious relationship of painting to photography. These two practices have long been in contention: photography has proclaimed the death of painting, yet painting continues to redefine itself beyond the realm of photography. Regarding this history, I am creating a series of “photo paintings”, using different dilutions of chemical photo developer painted onto exposed photo paper to create a synthesis of both photographic and painting practices. These current works create a dialogue between what has for so long seemed like disparate artistic languages. They act as a conduit between painting practice and photographic processes. The work creates conceptual discrepancies between facture and picture, or, more broadly, fact and fiction. Thus, they exist in suspension between perception and objectification.