I couldn’t resist repurposing these museum squares.

Originally used to protect notable albums hanging on the walls of the Rose Museum in Carnegie Hall I found these clear plexi squares in a dumpster, under drywall dust, down the hall from my friend’s office who works there. The Hall was under renovation and these plexi were being discarded.

I asked, “Can I have them?” He said, “Whatever you can carry.” That afternoon I took the bus home, a bundle in each hand.

 

 

6 squares with letters to their name

 

The S Square

 

 

The T Square

 

 

The J Square

 

 

The I Square

 

 

The D Square

 

 

The R Square

 

I love painting on clear surfaces, which these squares are. Solid and clear.

I’d given up painting on glass as the risk of shattering was too harrowing for my comfort. My preferred canvases evolved to clear mylar, plexi, and acetate. So these squares were a real treat.

Especially because they were all uniform in shape. All are album size, 12.5″ square. Up to then my canvases were individual pieces, usually one shot events, anything but uniform.

Painting on both sides of the clear canvas gave me flexibility and even more depth than I could do just on the front surface. It’s a bit like painting cell art for animation but with surface depth on the facing side.

They have some wear and tear from their life in the museum but minorly so. They’re painted with acrylics and mixed medium.

I have left bits of these pieces with transparent background. All the more to join an environment.

I recommend placing them rather casually. Lean them against books on a shelf, to the side of the fireplace, on a counter.

 

 

 

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