For his sixteenth solo exhibition Teplin has expanded on his architectural drawings to incorporate impossible elements reminiscent of Oscar Reutersvärd, M.C. Escher and Roger Penrose. At first glance one might simply see the structures as inventive diagrams. Upon further inspection, viewers begin to discern the illogical nature of the depicted spaces. The pen & ink and watercolor work in the show, all created in 2023, includes a 37” x 47” drawing, six 14” x 14” drawings and a set of twenty 5” x 7” finished studies.
Brooklyn based, interdisciplinary artist Scott Teplin creates paintings, drawings, and prints that merge possible and impossible elements of space, objects and anatomy. Humorous, grotesque, and whimsical, Teplin calls on a wellspring of childhood memories and feelings to return viewers to a place of innocence and uncertainty; where anything and everything is possible and believable. Teplin is drawn to the variability, warmth and imperfect line quality that a steel-nib dip pen lends to his work. His obsessive layering of color emphasizes the illusion of depth, inviting viewers to wonder what’s around the next corner.
Teplin’s meticulously rendered, labyrinthine buildings offer an invitation for viewers to navigate on their own playful terms. In this series, which began in the early 1990’s, Teplin has merged the tight boundary of isometric composition with the boundless personality that inhabits the space. More recently Teplin’s isometric works have stretched the margins further by incorporating impossible elements resulting in optical sensations of depth.
