Darcie Book
Sculptural painting that pushes the boundaries of paint and space.
From Darcie Book:
I view my studio as a laboratory where I develop innovative processes to explore paint as a sculptural material. My work pushes the boundaries and possibilities of painting by navigating the realms between the two- and three-dimensional. Paint protrudes off surfaces, appearing to ooze or flow as it makes its departure from the two-dimensional picture plane. While my work embodies a sense of the otherworldly, I am interested in how the heightened physicality of the paint may generate corporeal resonance, and elicit desire or longing.
My explorations of sculptural painting began as wall-based works and have naturally evolved to include large scale installations. These installations strike a dialogue between hyperphysical paint forms and expanses of gold leaf in which I am painting with light and fields of reflected color. There exists a deliberate intersection between the ethereal and fugitive medium of light and the materially tethered nature of paint.
My goal is to create experiences that enhance the viewer’s awareness of being physically present while also feeling fully connected to the world around them.
Darcie Book (Austin, TX) is a sculptural painter and installation artist whose work explores paint as object and architecture through innovative processes using acrylic paint. She was awarded an unsolicited grant in 2017 by the Belle Foundation for Cultural Development for achievement in the arts and humanities. Book was a finalist for the 2016 Sondheim Prize with a corresponding exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art. She attended the Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency in 2015, and completed a permanent 700 SF installation as part of the Facebook Artist in Residence Program in Austin, TX in 2018.
Book has participated in over 50 major exhibitions locally and nationally including Manifest Gallery’s FRESH PAINT Biennial (Cincinnati, 2015) as well as at ICOSA (2018), DiverseWorks (Houston, 2017), Fort Works Art (2017), AREA 405 (Baltimore, 2017), SpaceCamp (Baltimore, 2017), Current
Gallery (Baltimore, 2005, 2011), School 33 Art Center (Baltimore, 2003, 2011, 2016), Maryland Art Place (Baltimore, 2016), The Art Barn (Santa Fe, 2003), and The Contemporary Museum (Baltimore, 2003).
Her exhibitions have been reviewed in Sculpture Magazine, Sightlines Magazine, The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Magazine, BmoreArt, and the Baltimore City Paper. Book was a founding member of A.M. Art Collective (2011-2017), a member of the Bmore Critique Group (2016-2017), and is currently a member of ICOSA Collective (2018-present). She received her BFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2004.
Watch a short video of Darcie's piece "Wavelength".