David Mann’s abstract works explore the capability of painting to make direct allusions to the observable world, as well as commenting on the process of painting. The aspect of self-referentiality in the work focuses on the luminosity, space, movement and texture of the paint itself – the abstract, optical and physical characteristics of the work. Through multiple layers of sprayed and poured color and the use of solvent dispersions, the artist sets up luminous grounds punctuated by irregular shapes. The paintings are animated on the surface with curvilinear forms, freely floating or in clusters, created by the sweep of a squeegee-like tool through the multiple layers.

Mann’s compositions can suggest something on the cusp of coming into being, or perhaps in a state of dissolution or dissipation, or both at once. The artist is interested in disrupting the experience of scale and space so there is ambiguity between the large and small. In several of the paintings there is a darkness located in the center of the painting giving a sense of great depth. This dark space is suggestive of a deep channel or a cavernous abyss and has general associations with the pervasiveness of mystery and the unknown in our experience. On a more abstract level, the paintings explore illuminated darkness. Countering the deep space in some of the work are extended forms suggesting dramatic explosions or implosions with their expansive or compressive motion and attendant sexual overtones.

The representational aspect of the work is non-specific but influenced by scientific imaging, particularly the Scanning Electron Microscope and the Hubble Telescope. This imagery is referenced for its abstract qualities and is compelling to the artist because of its inaccessibility to the naked eye, requiring the use of technology to be seen. The reference to science in the work is more philosophical than conceptual; the artist doesn’t seek to represent scientific concepts or theories but is concerned with the role science plays in our world, both as a source of information and as an authority on the nature of things. Mann’s paintings embody the parallel idea that the artist subjectively gives form to previously unseen worlds in his work and that we gain vision of invisible worlds, the intimate (microscopic) and the immense (the cosmic), through highly technological means. The paintings therefore suggest hidden or obscure worlds and serve as a reminder of the ability of painting to give representation to these unseen realms, whether real or subjective.