ARTIST BIO

John Carstens

John Carstens (b. 1967) is an autodidactic having worked in graphic design, architecture, and computer programming the past thirty years. Now as full-time artist he indulges in blending these interdisciplinary skills.

Carstens’ work embraces indirect realism — a belief that reality is not directly observed, but rather inferred from the mind’s interpretation of sensory experiences. Perception versus reality. Truth versus belief.

Conceiving of Neo-Divisionism, John amplifies mathematical patterns onto figuration. Using a limited colour pallet, tones are simulated by the undulating volume of dots. Up-close the dots are ambiguous as each shape acts as a universe of its own. From afar the dots coalesce into representation orchestrating an interconnected reality. A paradox of abstraction and precision.