Expansive abstractions of the universe on view at newly opened One World Trade Center

NEW YORK, NY.- Two abstract paintings by Doug Argue that evoke the ever expanding and evolving universe are now on view One World Trade Center, the newly opened 1,776-foot tower in Lower Manhattan.

Set on a dark background, Argue’s Randomly Placed Exact Percentages (2009 – 2013) and Isotropic (2009 – 2013) are built up through thousands of dot-like brushstrokes or letters that have been distorted to create rhythms and patterns that suggest fields of activity in deep space. Both paintings measure over nine by 13 feet. Hung on white Carrara marble in the soaring lobby of One World Trade Center, the paintings will be among the first things visitors to the office building see on entering.

Argue has incorporated letters into his abstractions for several years. He views them as being similar to atoms and molecules: they are elemental in the evolution of man- and womankind’s societies and cultures and their myriad combinations suggest the infinite possibilities for development and progress.

Randomly Placed Exact Percentages is a highly atmospheric work that suggests a galaxy laced with blues and deep reds, along with more prevalent whites and soft grays. A darker passage at the center of the painting is a focal point that may be interpreted in a variety of ways.

Isotropic is built up from a dark ground with fields of small white dots creating clusters of light points. The dark ground and stars are overlaid with red, yellow, orange, blue, and white slashes that are in fact letters: most have been rotated to the point of being largely unrecognizable.

“The paintings are about how our great, majestic, and unending cosmos is made up of billions upon billions of things and how they relate to and interact with each other, much like our own lives and experiences,” Argue said. “I hope people find them interesting and beautiful and see something different in them with each viewing.”

The paintings were incorporated into the collections of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns One World Trade Center, in 2013 and will remain on view indefinitely.

Doug Argue explores infinite time and space in his painting by fusing abstraction with math, science and language. Argue embraces the tradition of painting while employing modern concepts of realism, abstraction, and expressionism. His work is found in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, and numerous corporate and important private collections. He was recipient of the Rome Prize (1977) and of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant (1995) among other awards.