Noise, is a series of paintings and works on paper by Pierre Obando that exploits the idea of unwanted aural/visual information, like “snow” at the end of a pre-cable television transmission. This exhibition presents examples of visual noise, information too excessive to be sifted through or too separate to carry meaning.

Obando embraces and reverses this idea to explore visual noise; what “we look past,” what we might think of as visual noise. He has created paintings that picture gum-spots on the sidewalk, using now obsolete Ben-day dot paper. He manipulated newspaper cartoon bubbles to reflect on the often-abstract nature of speech. “My works are based on images and imaging formats that were interesting because of how they looked, what they were, or for the potential they had for being translated into paintings.” It is in this translation process that noise, visual or otherwise can be arranged and sculpted into a meaning, into a “comfort noise,” a noise with a function, a noise that embraces intent.

Through this process the artist creates form out of the most abstract randomness. He shows us patterns and beauty within apparent disarray.