Gary Bastoky
17766 NE 90th St.
Apt. O-373
Redmond, WA, USA
98052-6914
425-861-9941
bastokyg@bastoky.com

Biography:

I describe my work, for lack of a better term as “abstract expressionist,” and I've been working in this style since the mid-70’s. These purely abstract images are “acquired” from the chaos of the moment. They are representations of timespace. It has been my personal experience, and it is my belief that artists are essentially “receivers” who are able to channel, if you will, the chaos that we otherwise interpret as linear events in time.

The artist’s responsibility, as I see it, is to tune in to our connection with the Universe, and to represent it as a visual story. The story is really more of a catalyst, an incomplete Gestalt, and it is the viewer’s responsibility to be open to the story that works for them, and to bring their own story to the mix.

Each time the work is viewed (any work—not just abstract work), as in Quantum Physics, the viewer and the environment (changing light, temperature, noise, etc.) affect the outcome of the completed story. If the work is viewed by different people, as in a museum or gallery, or viewed by the same person over time, as in a private collection, a successful piece of art, will always interact with, and invite interaction from the viewer.

I have always been attracted to imperfection, and the beauty that is produced by randomness and entropy, and my painting is an attempt to create order from this seeming chaos. I find in this entropy, a return to the original Source. It is not emotional, in fact it is a letting go of emotions and intellect, so that, in essence it is coming from my intuition, or my center, or whatever it might be called.

The emotions and intellectual reasoning come before the actual work, with the work itself coming as a sort of “ah ha” experience, a deeper understanding of that which lead to the execution of the piece.

Matisse has been quoted as saying that in order to abstract something, you must understand it and see (or sense) its essential nature, that is, you are abstracting its essence. I think that successful abstract work not only depicts the essence of whatever it is the artist is abstracting, but, as the Chinese Book of Changes, the I-Ching states, it “reunites people with their reality.”

Curriculum vitae:

My work has been exhibited in the Oakland Museum Rental Gallery, (1978-1980), the Bastoky Gallery (Urban Landscapes, 1995), and in numerous private collections throughout the U.S.

In the past I have generally chosen not to exhibit my work through traditional gallery venues. Now I feel that my work has matured to the point where I am actively seeking gallery representation.

Education:
BFA
California State University, Hayward

Landscape Architecture
Masters Degree Certificate Program
University of California, Berkeley

All images copyright 2001-2005, Gary Bastoky
All rights reserved.