[...] Torreano’s columns asserted illusional space by extending his painting away from the wall while remaining attached to it, and by doing so, they disrupted abstract painting’s emphasis on a flat, expansive picture plane. Projecting painting into the realm of sculpture, these works were also encrusted with gems that could be seen for what they were, physical, decorative points as well as metaphors for stars in deep space; but they could not be taken in all at once: their reflections and facets changed and shifted as the viewer’s eyes scanned as they moved around the works. [...]- Terrie Sulton
This exhibition showcases Torreano's explorations with recent examples of his wood columns and round edged canvas paintings.
His work breaks from the traditional idea of painting, as a window into or container of meaning. These columns and paintings incorporate his signature use of acrylic gems which add an alluring layer to the work. They offer glistening points that co-operate with the viewer’s movement. This makes for a visually personal experience as each angle offers a new facet unique to each person's point-of-view. Thus, meaning is not "decoded or interpreted" from the work but results from a visually particular, in-the-moment perception.
Inspired by his fascination with the cosmos and its imagery, Torreano's paintings invite viewers to have a more visceral engagement with those unimaginably distant and fantastical objects. The canvases and columns push outward into the gallery to create an immediate and tangible physical presence. The gems reflect light that shifts and adapts reaffirming, for each viewer, their unique position within the gallery space and, by extension, the rest of the world.
Meaning is not fixed or contained in the object, rather it emerges from a dialogue as each viewer becomes author of the experience.
