Light on Water
Updated: The exhibition Light on Water is now closed, but the overall project continues.
The exhibition formed both a survey of styles and media explored over the last 15 years; and offered an opportunity to create a new body of abstract seascapes. These paintings present a dual narrative: they are at once representations of reflected sunlight upon the surface of seawater captured at different times; and, when taken as a whole, a springboard to discuss the effects of warming seawater and the loss of ice at our Poles.
“David Cass takes a long look at the ocean in his tenth solo exhibition, ‘Light on Water’, at The Scottish Gallery. Somehow, the show manages to be both an in-depth reflection on surfaces of water (if that is not an inherent contradiction) and to embody deep concerns with climate change …
In a sense, these works are abstract. They don’t depict particular stretches of water, but are concerned with colours and moods; water is the language of the work as much as the subject. The hang in The Scottish Gallery, which places the paintings at different levels, creates the sense of the work as the sum of its parts as well as inviting us to look at individual components.
… Cass approaches his subject with such energy and engagement that it’s rarely dull, and manages to spark reflection on climate change without allowing the show to feel heavy-handed or overly didactic.”
“For David Cass, the sea offers an endless source of wonder at its depths, history, bounty, and sometimes ferocity ... the artist has long been fascinated by the power of water, especially its increasing vulnerability to the effects of the climate crisis.
In ’Light on Water’, his current solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery, the artist continues to address the warming and rapid rising of ocean levels around the world through paintings that hover between abstraction and representation.
Cass draws attention to estimates that 91 percent of Earth’s excess heat energy trapped in the climate system is stored by our oceans. As the planet continues to warm, this storage capability disappears, threatening all manner of life...”
“Cass has long concerned himself with climate change and in his new exhibition – the tenth major solo show of his career – he continues to wrestle with these era-defining issues. His atmospheric seascapes are painted onto found objects, many of them antiques, and these aged former containers, books and other objects remind the viewer of a time when humans had yet to have such a significant impact on the natural world.”