This artwork from 2001 (like so many pieces I’ve made during this time) is square. There’s a stable purity with the geometry of a square. A square is symbolic of balance. A square is based on rational order & also symbolic of the minimalism from the 60s & 70s. Each side of the sculptural-painting is evenly measured & a square is also the primary element of a grid. This object was made to hang on a wall, while at the same time, I wanted to emphasize the elemental features & materials of a picture within a frame. In this case, the frame was intentionally exaggerated, using common “4 x 4” fir posts. The central focal point within the frame, was routed into a pine block to mimic ‘worm-wood’ trails (trails left by the larvae of wood-boring-beetles). The pattern of the frame, with the random drilled holes, was likewise meant to complement the worm-trails. At the same time, the pattern on the frame is a reference to a map. Maps serve as a way to demarcate pathways on a grid, natural or manmade. During this time, the use of the color beige was a deliberate choice to capture the essence of a painted surface. This was a way of using a ‘plain’ color to show an avoidance of the use of color. I didn’t want it to be colorful as an attention grabber. Art does not need to be ‘colorful’ to be interesting. This too is another influence of minimalism (neo, or even post-minimalism). The subject of a natural process of insects is itself a type of drawing–a sculptural drawing, drawn with an unaesthetic necessity–like maps drawn on grids or like worms eating wood.
–Aurelio Madrid
luctor et emergo 