Shawn Thornton's Intricate Cosmos

Shawn Thornton, Serpent’s Egg in The Seat Of Consciousness, 2004-2005, oil on panel, 11 x 11 inches (photo by Ryan Collerd)
Shawn Thornton, Serpent’s Egg in The Seat Of Consciousness, 2004-2005, oil on panel, 11 x 11 inches (photo by Ryan Collerd)

John Yau reviews Shawn Thornton: Pareidolia at CUE Art Foundation, New York, on view through May 24, 2017.

Yau concludes: "Thornton has likened his work to a “cosmos of small tantric paintings that come together as anthropomorphic circuit boards.” In a number of the paintings, he overlays these circuit boards onto his self-portrait, so that they become tattoo-like markings that extend beyond his face. While many of the symbols are now familiar to us, Thornton’s repetition of them imbues the work with throbbing presence, a visual hum."