In Subsurface Continuum Swanson’s new paintings continue to investigate manipulations of terrain and architecture. This work explores time on a geologic scale collapsing what feels like multiple instances into a single recording. He uses a variety of methods of mark making in his work: pouring, masking, overlaying, thinning and thickening the paint and then sanding. His process is both inquisitive and intuitive. Forms and shapes are generated by his discoveries in the topography of the paint.
Often working from photographically sourced images, Swanson’s imagery has references to architectural rendering, science fiction, digital graphics, map-making, geological structures, and physical cosmology. The paintings are in-motion with worlds coming apart and colliding together, hinting at urban planning, methods of transporting people, products, and communication networks.
