Isaac Pohoryles Gelb

Artist Statement

Whether representational or abstract, all of my art begins by acknowledging the flatness of the picture surface. The inherent distortion in working in just two dimensions allows the composition’s elemental shapes, facets, and curves to overtake the reference. While shapes and patterns are often subjects in their own right, my purpose with geometric composition is to liberate color and light as the true subjects.

My preoccupation with geometric structure extends through physical reality into abstraction. While I am intrigued by the construction and mechanization of our built environment, these scenes become spaces to reflect on internalized constructions, parts of reality which are “built” and maintained by cultural and political artifice. The anatomy of our built environment reflects our priorities, embodies our technological achievements, frames our points of view, and regulates our engagement with nature. By deflecting my focus through the subject onto light and color, my work uses the artifice of the drawn/painted surface to take notice of– and mystify– the constructed components of lived experience.

Please browse my work— you can find everything in the “Portfolio” section— and get in touch if you have any thoughts!

Thank you so very much for being here!