Suzanne Guldimann is the editor of the Topanga New Times, and also TNT’s resident naturalist. She was recently asked to give a talk on being…
Topanga Canyon Gallery proudly presents “Color by Numbers,” a solo exhibition by gallery member and Malibu artist Mark Estes. The opening reception will be Saturday October 29, 4-7pm.
Mark Estes is an engineer turned artist. Creativity has marked his journey while developing and successfully receiving over 90 US patents. Estes taught himself electronics, micro-controllers, and fabrication, resulting in his unique creative expression through code. He begins his artistic process with single LEDs, then strips of LEDs, grids of LEDs, and ultimately larger matrix panels; Estes uses matrixes as his canvas, which makes the software, his brushstrokes.
Estes’ early work with LEDs included the development of a word clock. It was through these clocks that he was originally discovered by Tracy Park who invited him to show some of his early clocks at her gallery in Malibu. He continues to evolve the clock designs with new sizes, materials, colors and styles.
Moving beyond clocks, Estes’ work has expanded to include LED matrix compositions with a focus on color and motion. These works hearken back to a cultural memory of 1980’s arcade design. Each piece contains multiple pixelated elements curated from a larger body of work. In an era where 80’s nostalgia has manifested itself through film and fashion, Estes patents this current style through his art. Each element is born with unique traits so that while the element may echo familiarity, there is variability and nuance in terms of speed, color, persistence, scale, aspect, and other visual characteristics; resulting in a viewing experience ever evolving, wistfully raw, and engaging.
Mark is excited to bring his work to Topanga Canyon Gallery. “Color by Numbers” will run October 28 through November 20, 2022 with an opening reception on Saturday October 29th from 4 pm to 7 pm. The gallery moves to its winter hours starting October 28 — Fridays 1-7pm, Saturdays and Sundays, 12-6pm.
