Blue Geneva (SOLD)
Oil, Acrylic and Collage on Canvas: 48"x36"
Pink Geneva (SOLD)
Oil, Acrylic and Collage on Canvas: 48"x24"
Orange Geneva (SOLD)
Oil, Acrylic and Collage on Canvas: 40"x30"
Purple Geneva ($400)
Oil, Acrylic and Graphite on Canvas: 40"x30"
Blueprints I ($350)
Acrylic and Collage on Canvas: 36"x36"
Blueprints II ($350)
Acrylic and Collage on Canvas: 36"x36"
Geneva III (SOLD)
Prismacolor on Paper: 32"x26"
Geneva IV (SOLD)
Prismacolor on Paper: 32"x26"
Artist Statement
I love Geneva Steel. I never lived in Utah while it was fully operational. I never experienced the layers of pollution many have told me the plant caused while it was fully functional. Many my think my views about it to be naive or bias because of this fact, but that doesn’t really matter to me or to my work.
When I discovered the plant it was almost alone, abandoned except for a few workers still milling about. I found the giant steel landscape beautiful and mysterious. The line and shape the huge bridges and towers created was such a contrast against the otherwise mountainous and natural Utah skyline. I marveled at the history portrayed in its many layers of rusting metal. It was as though the plant began to take on a new life as its original metallic colors became more and more muted and decayed. It somehow seemed less of a machine controlled by workers and more of a entity changing and aging along with those in the city that gave it life and function.
When I began painting Geneva Steel I knew that it was on the brink of extinction, however I had no idea that I would be able to witness its dismantling first hand. Its destruction has had a profound effect on my paintings. What started out as more of a formal exploration transformed into a sort of personal historical documentation. The art works in this show involve my many different thoughts and feelings about Geneva’s existence and extinction. My only preconceived hope for the viewer (weather you like the plant or hate it) is that these interpretations will inspire you to take a second look at the historical fixture that has been part of your own backyard for over half a century.
November 1941 - Construction on Geneva Steel began
December 2006 - Estimated completion of deconstruction
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