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Bruce Pollock

Nature

June 2023

Selected Works Thumbnails
Branching 1  24" x 18"  Oil On Linen

Branching

24" x 18"

Oil On Linen

 

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Branching 2  30" x 24"  Oil On Linen

Branching Spectrum

30" x 24"

Oil On Linen

 

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Caracol 1  12" x 9"  Oil On Canvas

Caracol 1

12" x 9"

Oil On Canvas

 

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Bubble Cipher  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Bubble Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

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Cracking  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Crack Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

 

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Crater Cipher  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Crater Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

 

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Caracol 2  16" x 12"  Oil On Canvas

Caracol 2

16" x 12"

Oil On Canvas

 

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Folium 1  20" x 16"  Oil On Linen

Folium 1 (SOLD)

20" x 16"

Oil On Linen

 

Folium 2  12" x 9"  Oil On Canvas

Folium 2

12" x 9"

Oil On Canvas

 

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Geo 24" x 18"  Oil On Linen

Geo

24" x 18"

Oil On Linen

 

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Green Moon  22" x 18"  Oil On Linen

Green Moon

22" x 18"

Oil On Linen

 

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Spectrum  16" x 12"  Oil On Canvas

Spectrum

16" x 12"

Oil On Canvas

 

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Rain Cipher  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Rain Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

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Nocturn   14" x 11"  Oil On Canvas Panel

Nocturn 2

14" x 11"

Oil On Canvas Panel

 

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Planet Plant  36" x 30"  Oil On Linen

Planet Plant

36" x 30"

Oil On Linen

 

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Leaf  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Leaf Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

 

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Fractal Forest  23" x 20"  Oil On Linen

Fractal Forest

23" x 20"

Oil On Linen

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Forest Mist  25" x 20"  Oil On Linen

Forest Mist

25" x 20"

Oil On Linen

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Spring Forest  24" x 20"  Oil On Linen

Spring Forest

24" x 20"

Oil On Linen

 

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Tree Leaning  25" x 20"  Oil On Canvas

Tree Leaning

25" x 20"

Oil On Linen

 

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Triton - Shape Of Water 24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Triton - Shape Of Water

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

 

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Yonder  12" x 9"  Oil On Canvas

Yonder

12" x 9"

Oil On Canvas

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Branching 1  24" x 18"  Oil On Linen

Branching

24" x 18"

Oil On Linen

 

Branching 2  30" x 24"  Oil On Linen

Branching Spectrum

30" x 24"

Oil On Linen

 

Caracol 1  12" x 9"  Oil On Canvas

Caracol 1

12" x 9"

Oil On Canvas

 

Bubble Cipher  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Bubble Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

Shop

Cracking  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Crack Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

 

Crater Cipher  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Crater Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

 

Caracol 2  16" x 12"  Oil On Canvas

Caracol 2

16" x 12"

Oil On Canvas

 

Folium 1  20" x 16"  Oil On Linen

Folium 1 (SOLD)

20" x 16"

Oil On Linen

 

Folium 2  12" x 9"  Oil On Canvas

Folium 2

12" x 9"

Oil On Canvas

 

Geo 24" x 18"  Oil On Linen

Geo

24" x 18"

Oil On Linen

 

Green Moon  22" x 18"  Oil On Linen

Green Moon

22" x 18"

Oil On Linen

 

Spectrum  16" x 12"  Oil On Canvas

Spectrum

16" x 12"

Oil On Canvas

 

Rain Cipher  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Rain Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

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Nocturn   14" x 11"  Oil On Canvas Panel

Nocturn 2

14" x 11"

Oil On Canvas Panel

 

Planet Plant  36" x 30"  Oil On Linen

Planet Plant

36" x 30"

Oil On Linen

 

Leaf  24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Leaf Cipher

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

 

Fractal Forest  23" x 20"  Oil On Linen

Fractal Forest

23" x 20"

Oil On Linen

Forest Mist  25" x 20"  Oil On Linen

Forest Mist

25" x 20"

Oil On Linen

Spring Forest  24" x 20"  Oil On Linen

Spring Forest

24" x 20"

Oil On Linen

 

Tree Leaning  25" x 20"  Oil On Canvas

Tree Leaning

25" x 20"

Oil On Linen

 

Triton - Shape Of Water 24" x 22"  Oil On Linen

Triton - Shape Of Water

24" x 22"

Oil On Linen

 

Yonder  12" x 9"  Oil On Canvas

Yonder

12" x 9"

Oil On Canvas

“I am trying to envision the non-physical or spiritual part of nature. The forces and forms that are the motivation of growth and are hidden from view. A vision of nature that is expanded to embrace micro and macrocosmic points of view.”

-Bruce Pollock

Bruce Pollock - Nature - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Crater Cipher, 24″ x 22″, Oil On Linen

Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition with Philadelphia-based artist Bruce Pollock, whose paintings of forms found in nature add to the ongoing tradition of landscape painting at the gallery. The exhibition, titled Nature, features three distinct areas of Pollock’s practice, namely his Ciphers, Plant and Planet, as well as Fractal Forest series. Each focuses on recurring patterns and perpetual sequences observed in the natural world. These phenomena are of significant mathematical and scientific interest, and also create the structure of Pollock’s painted form. There is an appreciation for the micro and the macro, the near and far, and the ephemeral and the infinite.

Unlike the traditional landscape format, Pollock’s paintings are oriented vertically. Instead of a horizontal vista that favors ground or sky, Pollock’s works are often symmetrically bifurcated by a strong central plant-like form in his Plant And Planet compositions. There is a sense of viewing the plant forms on a Z-axis, or rather over time intervals as opposed to a singular moment in nature being recorded. His saturated colors and bright schemas are at times more symbolic than literal. Reds and yellows seemingly indicate growth and life, while blues can be read as representative of the incremental patterns measuring and giving shape to planes and voids. In leveraging and nurturing these color relationships, Pollock expresses motifs of the metaphysical and the innate.

Bruce Pollock - Nature - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Planet Plant, 36″ x 30″, Oil On Linen

Conversely, a pattern of evenly handled shapes stretches across the entire pictorial field and beyond in Pollock’s Ciphers series. Conventions of landscape painting, such as emphasis on pastoral detail, are subverted for something more standardized in these works. Varying formulations of structure, such as spirals, rings, and cells, build painted atmospheres through uniformity, drawing attention to the similarities found in objects of nature. Simultaneously, Pollock pays homage to the natural phenomena’s unique complexities through techniques of rescaling and recombining aspects of their fundamental geometric forms. Pollock’s efforts embrace the idiosyncrasies of the micro within a macro perspective, fostering an awareness of both the volatility and order to the world surrounding us.

Pollock seems to seek an underlying code, or anticipate the method for organizing the intricacies of the world. Although Pollock’s practice began before the proliferation of digitally-produced imagery, there is a clear connection to the algorithm-driven, infinitely reproducible online realm. However, instead of the cold mechanical product of microprocessors, Pollock’s work has the warm touch of a human hand searching for meaning within the eternal energies and infinite patterns in everything under the sun. 

Bruce Pollock is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. He has exhibited widely including solo shows at the Shenzhen Art Museum in Shenzen, P.R. China; the Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA; and other public and private institutions across the country. His work has been acquired by the The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum, the Woodmere Art Museum, Cigna Corporation, Comcast and many others. His work has been featured and reviewed by many magazines, newspapers and art publications. He is the recipient of many grants and awards including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, a fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the MacDowell Colony Fellowship. Bruce Pollock lives and works in Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore.

Bruce Pollock - Nature - Exhibitions - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Green Moon, 22″ x 18″, Oil On Linen

June 1 - 24, 2023

Reception & Meet the Artist: Saturday, June 3, 1 - 4 pm

Videos

Bruce Pollock featured in John Thornton's Bruce Pollock, Painting the Code and Spirit of Nature

"Bruce Pollock has a new solo show at Gross McCleaf called “Nature”. His paintings range from quite realistic to apparently abstract, but, there is an animating principle behind all his work regardless of subject."