CHARLIE YATES

pursuit of a shadow - Yates’ MFA thesis show at CalArts

Charlie Yates’ paintings in pursuit of a shadow trace fleeting moments of light, remembered and re-experienced through his perception. each work explores the narrative of landscape and nature, moving through grainy, blurred, and are-bure-boke textures to create evocative impressions of his subjects. from large to small canvases, the paintings reflect how moments and feelings are held, altered, and re-formed through his selected luminance, shadow, and material. the work moves beyond literal representation toward atmosphere, highlighting what is felt over what is seen. Yates captures landscape not as a fixed image, but traced through memory and perception, allowing each painting to exist as a shifting record of consciousness, rather than a single place.

Yates’ approach to light is rooted in his upbringing in Scotland, where changing weather and diffused illumination continually altered his perception of natural subjects. the Scottish concept of ‘glisk’, or a brief moment of brightness, helped shape his early awareness that perception is never fixed.

using oil paint and natural earth pigments, Yates builds and scrapes layers with a cloth and tools rather than brushes. therefore, the image gradually emerges, revealing traces of time and change throughout his process. additionally, Yates’ use of natural pigments physically anchor the grittiness of the work in the landscapes it references. 

introducing cyanotype as a secondary process in this exhibition, Yates is able to create art by directly using light. a bucket of water washes away the cyanotype chemicals, leaving unexpected hidden marks across the canvas. these gestures reshape the composition of the image, reinforcing motion and emphasising the highlights that trace the scene.

in addition to his 2D works, Yates designed and built a sculptural listening structure to be used as a record stand, bench, and frame, made from the same sustainably reused wood as used in the smaller paintings. “I have chosen to store paintings inside the structure because I want the work to be revealed by the viewer, not demonstrated by the artist,” said Yates. this loop between image and object collapses distinctions between surface and structure, painting and furniture, carrying memory through repeated use. 

sound enters the work as a response rather than a source. the joint record stand and bench functions as a sculptural form sonically activated by music chosen in reflection of the images and the act of making. to best compliment the images, sound remains low, familiar, and atmospheric, present yet unobtrusive. Like light, sound is present yet unseen, shaping how the work is experienced without direct representation.

together, these elements of pursuit of a shadow examine the relationship between landscape, music, and memory, guiding the viewer through experiences that are at once revealing and unsettling. the work resists fixed meaning, existing in a state of becoming: an attempt to inhabit feeling, linger in ambiguity, and allow perception to remain unresolved.

see the collection and its availability below.