PPS Edition Created by Artist GA Gardner

Written by O Vassell

PPS is a series of collage mixed media works that examine the randomness, but inexplicable cohesion of natural and artificial environments.

Using color to differentiate aspects of nature like the sun and the sea and man-made creations like cities and technology, the series employs random selections to create a unified theme.  The palates are taken from a spectrum of colors from the vibrancy of a red hot sun, the tranquil blue of an ocean, to the steel grey of an urban center.

The collages are assembled with the precision of a mason working with a variety of newsprint pages that support the color and texture of the desired environment.  GA Gardner uses color-coded material from trade, gaming and social media publications, unifying the strips by painting over them with various degrees of transparency. Painting the magazine pages unifies and subdues the often vibrant multicolored images.

Along the way, random words and phrases, such as "Fight the addiction,” and "War,” speak to the origin of the materials that now inform and support the pieces.

PPS 105, for example, focuses on video game culture. Various animated characters are woven in vibrant red to represent the synergy between their invigorating energy and that of the sun, while striations of yellow reflect the mix of sun on water and the integration of technology into the fabric of everyday life. 

In PPS 111, the intense cacophony of the city with its concrete, sun, heat, sky, merge in a vibrant dance. 

For Gardner this is not only about grouping issues and painting them, these abstract collages must also be thought provoking and visually stimulating.

For more information about this and other works visit GA Gardner's website www.gagardner.com.