Polar Series

(Plumb Bob Series of tondos on diamonds) 2021-2024

The Polar Series paintings (which I originally called the “Plumb Bob” series) began in 2021. I had not put paint to canvas in 15 years, so it was a slow start.  I began with some small rectangular paintings, but as I worked, the desire to “find the center” emerged, so I went circular. “Finding the center” led me to the idea of a contractor’s plumb bob.  My inspiration turned out to be one of my earliest and best paintings, Target, 1963, a 16-inch acrylic on canvas work painted on a circular chair bottom I found in an abandoned room at the old Primalon Roller Rink in San Francisco — the studio from which a few fellow SFAI art students and I would emerge. The centered sections as well as the dark/light contrasts in Target got me thinking about spherical tops and bottoms, and opposite poles of light-dark, black-white, up-down. I mounted the circles on square backings to better define their objecthood, and to “protect” them. My artist friend Fred Smith suggested I try installing the backings as diamonds instead, which I think was a great idea.  — Ron Davis

I started the Polar Series paintings in 2021, during the pandemic. I had not put paint to canvas in 15 years, so it was a slow start.  As I worked, the desire to “find the center” emerged, so I went circular. “Finding the center” led me to the idea of poles, and the perception that each circle was viewed from above a pole. My inspiration turned out to be one of my earliest and best paintings, Target, 1963, a 16-inch acrylic on canvas work painted on a circular chair bottom.