James Gortner
Ground Breakage II → Bell Labs NYC (2024-ongoing)
These site-specific works are made at the former Bell Laboratories in Manhattan- the birthplace of world-changing inventions, such as nuclear theory, the transistor, lasers, digital cameras, solar power, and C programming. Using my own invented painting process, I layer colors in 100% recycled paint directly onto the old lab floors. I paint the ground using both additive and reductive techniques, then reverse the final painting onto linen. The process extracts some existing floor paint and detritus from the lab, along with what I painted, creating a kind of reliquary, or essence of the space within my painting. My painting process here values intuition and planning, as well as chaos and chance. The contradiction yields paint that is sculptural and molded to the contours of the floor, aesthetically resembling a time-aged, old-world wall or mosaic, yet bears little resemblance to the actual lab floor. They hold information from the floor, but ironically function as a surreal trompe l'oeil presentation of an imaginary location.
Most of the building that housed the laboratories for most of the 20th century is now Westbeth Artist Housing, where I live. This personal connection establishes a biographical framework for the series, embedding each piece with layers of meaning that extend beyond its visual components.
While Bell Labs’ historic inventions have undeniably advanced society, they have also contributed to the current environmental and wellness challenges we face today. As a transformative gesture in Art, I offer these recycled paintings, imbued with time, brightly hued and abstracted from Old Bell Labs, as an archeological excavation and a critique of our 20th century’s linear view of Art and Science history. By drawing a poetic line through metaphysical time, culture, and locational scaffolding, this body of work intentionally celebrates human endeavor and our ongoing quest to better understand the universe, both within and beyond conventional frameworks.
Landscape With Universal Windows, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Textbook Exploding Meme, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Renew You, 2025
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (painted on excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
(SOLD)
JAMES GORTNER
Dream Calculator, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Dream Calculator, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Cats Game Of Chance, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 27 in x 36 in / 68.5 cm x 91.5 cm
Super Computer, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
(SOLD)
Information Ocean, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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The Hottest Flame, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
(SOLD)
Twinning With Screaming Demons, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 27 in x 36 in / 68.5 cm x 91.5 cm
JAMES GORTNER
Dragon Inside Ten Thousand Suns, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
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Dragon Inside Ten Thousand Suns, 2024
Reclaimed oil and acrylic paint on linen w/glitter glass (excerpt Bell Laboratories) 54 in x 45 in / 137 cm x 114 cm
BUY NOW
The poetry of these works lies not only in their materials and technique but also in the location of their creation: the former Bell Laboratories in Manhattan. This historic site, the birthplace of groundbreaking inventions such as nuclear bombs and energy, the transistor radio, lasers, C coding, digital cameras, and solar power, provides a rich contextual backdrop. I apply recycled colors directly to the old laboratory floor before reversing them onto canvas, along with some residual layers of older factory paint and detritus. My dried paint, along with the existing factory paint, forms a physical memory of the floor. By applying my painting innovation here, I echo an abstraction of time and proximity. This painting object is a spiritual repository of this historic ground where world-changing innovations were founded over the past century.
What sets these paintings apart is their ability to embody the spirit of formal abstraction and conceptual art while remaining intriguingly representational. They evoke images of old tile floors or ancient mosaic walls, straddling the line between realism and abstraction. While bearing little resemblance to the actual floors from which they were molded, these paintings also offer a trompe l’oeil-like, realistic presentation of an imaginary location.
While Bell Labs’ inventions have undeniably advanced society, they have also contributed to current environmental and wellness challenges. The brightly colored and abstracted Bell Labs grid present in each piece serves as both an homage to and a critique of our 20th century’s linear view of Art and Science history. By drawing a poetic line through time and disciplines, this body of work celebrates human endeavor and our ongoing quest to better understand the universe, both within and beyond conventional frameworks.