Todd McKinney gives us a lot to think about when standing in front of his paintings. They are more than an investigation into the modes of abstraction. They probe and push against the limits of our definition of painting. McKinney situates his paintings into the realm of three dimensions by using unconventional materials to build up the surfaces. Fabrics, string, yarn, army men, Legos, copper bits punctuate the surfaces, adding texture. He uses these unconventional materials in addition to the gesture of a brush. These components are a strategy developed to offset a medical condition that sometimes prohibits the artist in his control of the painted mark. String and clothing are shaped and molded just like paint. McKinney uses this to his advantage in that it has allowed him to straddle the language of painting \/ sculpture with great success. In two of his works, McKinney uses the architecture of a corner. Two constructed canvases are placed perpendicular to each other creating a psychological space that physically extends four feet in two directions. In Algorithm 1637, I Think Therefore<\/em> (2020), this butterfly effect creates a turbulent space of order and chaos. Lines and geometric forms give structure while drips of paint and visceral organic shapes adds the opposite effect of fluidity and turmoil. It comes together as if walking through the maze of your mind where synapses fire rapidly sending different signals to your visual senses. Algorithm 375, There is No Spoon<\/em> (2020), another corner work is visually less disruptive but still packs in plenty to be deciphered. The central focus is a black diamond-shaped abyss that is peppered with brightly colored Legos, some real some created out of recast Crayola crayons. Surrounding this hole are reverberating black lines over an icy blue ground. The patterning creates an implied topographic landscape in which plastic army men populate the surface. The conflict becomes a war between the digital and artificial intelligence over mankind. Broader philosophical issues underlie McKinney’s works as can be seen in the painting Algorithm 1998, Heavy Mental<\/em>. Presented directly on the wall, a cosmological stew of organic forms drifts over a dark ground. The fluidity of the brush work creates forms that float on the surface. The biomorphic forms created out of hues of purple and cyan suggests spiritual creatures or microbes. The overall composition can be interpreted as either a celestial or cellular vision.<\/p>\nAt first consideration, these three works feel disparate, but they are united by a framework. McKinney’s paintings challenge the ways our eyes and brain create knowledge and how painting can transport you into place in which you decide what to decipher and take away.<\/p>\n
\u2013 James Harris<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Bio<\/h1>\n
Todd McKinney was born in San Francisco\u2019s Bay Area in 1980. His father gave him an education in industrial painting throughout his childhood. In 2010, he fell ill with a rare disease of the brain, called pseudotumor cerebri. As his condition progressed, so did his practice. He received his BA from University of California at Berkeley in 2015, with a minor in conservation and resources. In 2017, he rebooted his practice with a focus on minimizing his carbon footprint. He began to upcycle industrial paint, wood panels, tools and other items he found necessary to his practice. His new work flourished into abstract paintings rooted in materials and formalist technique.<\/p>\n
Group Exhibitions<\/h1>\n\n- 2020 \u201cMotif Hotel AIR Exhibition\u201d Motif Hotel. Seattle WA<\/li>\n
- 2019-2020 \u201cMeany Center Art Exhibit\u201d Meany Hall. Seattle, WA<\/li>\n
- 2019 \u201cIrreducible Forms\u201d Jacob Lawrence Gallery. Seattle, WA<\/li>\n
- 2019 \u201cSummer Work Exhibition\u201d Sand Point Gallery. Seattle, WA<\/li>\n
- 2019 \u201cMFA Student Scholarship Show, Allied Arts Association, Richland, WA<\/li>\n
- 2019 \u201cLMC Alumni Show\u201d Los Medanos Art Gallery. Pittsburg, CA<\/li>\n
- 2019 \u201cCobblestones & Lumber: UW x SFAI\u201d Fort Mason. San Francisco, CA<\/li>\n
- 2019 \u201cWork in Progress Exhibition\u201d Sand Point Gallery. Seattle, WA<\/li>\n
- 2018-2019 \u201cMeany Center Art Exhibit\u201d Meany Hall. Seattle, WA<\/li>\n
- 2018 \u201cChina Earth Day: Save the bay\u201d China Basin Building. San Francisco, CA<\/li>\n
- 2018 \u201cMagic of Mirth\u201d O\u2019Hanlon Center for the Arts. Mill Valley, CA<\/li>\n
- 2018 \u201cPancakes and Booze\u201d Oakland Metro Opera house Theater. Oakland, CA<\/li>\n
- 2014\u201cDia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)\u201d Kroeber Hall. UC Berkeley. Berkeley, CA<\/li>\n
- 2014 \u201cRemedies: Art, Medicine and Disability\u201d Kroeber Hall. UC Berkeley. Berkeley, CA<\/li>\n
- 2013 \u201cTerrestrial: Who you are, Where you are\u201d Los Medanos Art Gallery. Pittsburg, CA<\/li>\n
- 2012 \u201cCCACA Annual Conference\u201d Davis, CA<\/li>\n
- 2012 \u201cLos Medanos Student Art Show\u201d Los Medanos Art Gallery. Pittsburg, CA<\/li>\n
- 2011 \u201cLos Medanos Student Art Show\u201d Los Medanos Art Gallery. Pittsburg, CA<\/li>\n
- 2010 \u201cLos Medanos Student Art Show\u201d Los Medanos Art Gallery. Pittsburg, CA<\/li>\n
- 2009 \u201cLos Medanos Student Art Show\u201d Los Medanos Art Gallery. Pittsburg, CA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Projects<\/h1>\n