T. B. Demille

Artist Statement

I am fascinated by the natural world and what it means to be aware of it. As both a visual artist and a physicist, I try to capture the concept of ego through abstract portraiture and the essence of nature through geometry and mathematics. My style is to focus on sharp contrast between the subject and its background by using colorful negative spaces and a generous palette. From the intersection of human sentience with the grandeur of nature and its balance of both grim and delightful things, I draw the influences for my work.

The geometry of the world we have built looms all around us, forming linear paths for us as human beings. I use hard right angles in my work to assert a regimented, unnatural environment for the subject, like that which we make for ourselves. We use rectangular screens in our rectangular homes with regular, rectangular windows and doorways; the context of our lives. Emotions and introspection however, the hallmarks of sentience, embody the exact opposite. With such a pervasive dichotomy existing in all our lives, my human subject portraiture work hopes to blend the free forms of our self-identity with the structured foundations of our environments.

Taking that concept a step further, a central theme in my recent work has been to introduce elements of the natural world either directly, or abstractly, into my paintings. In my time as a scientist, I have come to see mathematics and physical derivations as an expression of beauty in the natural world. Patterns and principles which arise from the self-evidence and internal consistency of nature offer a unique elegance - one which I have determined to intertwine with my visual artwork. I’ve approached this by either incorporating their written expression directly onto the canvas or by making them a piece’s backdrop entirely. Together, the surrealist portraiture and simple elegance of mathematics form a unique juxtaposition and a commentary on what it means to both perceive the natural world as sentient creatures and to capture it, like lightning in a bottle.