“Surface Matters”, by Robert Nott
Nature plays a big role in Kessler’s work and even acts as a collaborator in the creative process. He uses primarily earth tones in his work leading the viewer to see such natural elements as mountains, fog, rivers, and sky on the main surface.
But Kessler chose the title “Surface Builder” for a reason. He builds surfaces. Lots of them – upward of a 100. So if you take the time to really study one piece, you’ll see past the veneer, that the works are like one of those models you studied in high school science where various levels of ground are peeling away, revealing shades of tone and nuaunce with each layer.
In short he’s not really trying to capture the way nature looks literally but rather how it works, which despite any scientific analysis being done on the subject, is as challenging a goal as lassoing nebula in the sky.
“I’m building a surface, ” Kessler explained. “And not so much an image. I see my work as a metaphor for nature – about wondering how it (nature) got that way, realizing that we may never find out.
“I’m interested in beauty, but not a superficial or superfluous beauty – something deeper.”
Kessler uses custom-made hand tools, including trowels and skimmers to lay and push layers of paint across the canvases, canvases that sometimes are first covered with etchings, rubbings, or symbols of some kind.
Often he lays the pieces aside to dry, allowing the sun, the wind, and other natural elements to play a hand in shaping the final product. Sometimes this approach leads to interesting rivulets winding their way across his surfaces.
The canvases are stretched over panels, giving off the illusion of a hard surface. Sometimes Kessler’s facades sport lines and paneled squares that do suggest a wooden door – but again one without a visible handle or knob to open it.
