ATMOSPHERIC NOISE, Part One by DON ZURLO

Don Zurlo Attempts to Reconcile Freedom with Order at His Upcoming Exhibit
(Kimberly Reda-Wilson)

Don Zurlo, MFA Rutgers, presents his “visualization of the creative process” that began at Starbuck’s in the Vista of Columbia, SC. The first of his two-part series…

Atmospheric Noise, Part I
will be on exhibit
Friday, February 29th - Tuesday, March 4th
Gallery80808/Vista Studios
808 Lady Street
Columbia, SC

Gallery hours are 10 AM until 5 PM. Personal appointments can be made by calling 803-960-2087. The opening exhibit of Don’s new art, which represents a combination of accident, intuition and rational decisions, can be viewed at his…

OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, February 29th from 7 - 9 PM


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Atmospheric Noise, Part I – how it started.

It started over a cup of coffee at Starbucks in the Vista of downtown Columbia…as he looked across the street; Don saw the malfunctioning neon “Liberty” Grill sign that momentarily displayed “Libe.” Don was intrigued to learn that “libe” is computer language for a C library which contains various functions dealing with data structures. From this, Don extrapolated two contradictory meanings –freedom as opposed to order. More importantly, “Was there a message in the sign about the reconciliation of these concepts?”

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Atmospheric Noise, Part I – associated to previous works.

Don began to reflect on his previous artwork like Red and Blue. He had already used esthetic principles as they relate to random events in a 1967 exhibition at the Howard Wise Gallery in NYC. Pulling from his previous work, combined with his experience at Starbucks, Zurlo began to visualize the creative process as a combination of accident, intuition and rational decisions.

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Atmospheric Noise, Part I – math or art?

Don found a list randomizer on the Internet that randomly reordered a series of numbers based on constantly changing data from atmospheric noise. Using calculations based on this series of numbers, he began a series of color field paintings which start with these generated accidents, and are completed using intuitive and logical decisions.


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Don’s Developing Art Style
Don’s upcoming exhibit will include pieces from 2004 through “Atmospheric Noise.” This additional work will tantalize avid art viewers’ tastes for texture, color, drama, and intensity. The array of work reveals Don’s experimentation with “abstract expressionism.


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Don’s Background

Don holds a BA English/Art and MFA Visual Arts from Rutgers University. He studied under Allan Kaprow and Robert Watts for his respective degrees. Don has exhibited in the Howard Wise Gallery, NYC, Walker Art, Minneapolis, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton and numerous other galleries in the East.
Atmospheric Noise, Part I - to be continued.
The second of Don’s two-part series…

Atmospheric Noise, Part II
will be on exhibit Thursday, May 8th – Tuesday, May 13th at Gallery80808/Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street, Columbia, SC.

For additional information and images, please visit www.donzurlo.com or the Gallery 80808/Vista Studios website News / Events.