Specimens of Abstraction

Hyatt’s exploration of geometric and impressionistic abstract art and the interplay of color began in the 1980s as he perfected techniques in casting and fabricating polyresins. More than 100 of those compositions are arrayed here in three wooden trays. Each “specimen” is a slice cut from an original polyresin casting.

The rows of numbered specimens resemble the displays of fossils or minerals common in college science buildings or natural-history museums. A light beneath the center tray turns on and off to show how the direction of light transforms the translucent and opaque color within each specimen.

Years ago, Hyatt used slices from the various polyresin castings to create sculptures and jewelry. More recently, he has worked with a photographer to showcase the specimens on a grander scale. Each polyresin specimen was illuminated from above and below, then photographed with a macro lens to show translucent and opaque color simultaneously. The edited macro images were enlarged into prints, as seen on the wall behind the specimen trays.

The abstract compositions that Hyatt created by hand four decades ago without any computer technology have been transformed using digital processes.

*click on each image below for a detailed view