Max Vityk. The Outcrops

Max Vityk, an American artist and geologist of Ukrainian origin, created an ambitious series of works called The Outcrops, inspired by outcrops of bedrock caused by erosion and human activity. In this series, Vityk outlines the geological scale and, using foam materials and enamel paints, depicts millions of years of the earth's evolution. This combination of materials creates textures that are remarkably similar to rock formations that spread out in large-scale sheets. As a representative of the new generation of abstractionists, Vityk turns to the monumental multi-layered painting of the New York school. His color system creates a symbolic layering of geological time from the white of the Ice Age to the blue and green of life emerging from the sea and advancing onto the land. Vitik's geological abstract expressionism, at first glance, seems completely non-figurative; in fact, "Exposure" reproduces the most real of objects, namely the ground under our feet.