NORTH BENNINGTON — For most people, viewing art is an experience that is best shared. As you gaze at a piece, and take in its complexities, something profound often transpires. You become immersed in the experience – forming concepts, pondering the creative process, exploring the possible influences and intentions. If you’re lucky, you can share your interpretative experience with another by way of a meaningful dialogue. If you’re really lucky, you can share your interpretations with the artist – and this is when the art can truly come alive.
In the case of local North Bennington artist Colin Goldberg, who has pioneered and championed the techspressionist movement, full immersion becomes this reality. Using a simple cell phone app, Goldberg takes the hand of every viewer and steps them over the threshold of his work – gently transporting them into the heart of the art.
Inside, color swirls. Shapes evolve, twisting and spiraling out of frame only to emerge once again, cycling in toward the center once again. Birds chirp in the distance, a train whizzes by, there is a gust of wind nearby, and NASA scientists converse.
The viewer has – quite literally – entered the headspace of Colin Goldberg.
“I was living a very free wielding life,” said Goldberg, of his early professional life in New York City. “I was really out there partying, a freelancer during the dot com boom. I literally would ride my skateboard to work. I had blue hair. I would hang out with these punk kids in the Village. But then, I’d go to work and be working on Merrill Lynch’s intranet with a team of other young people doing that same thing. And, at that point, we were the only ones who knew how to do this stuff. Back then, the older people really had no choice other than hire 20-somethings to do that corporate work. For me, it was a very wild lifestyle back then.”
It was a serendipitous opportunity that led Goldberg, his young daughter, and his former wife to relocate to the area, “I ended up here because I exhibited at Southern Vermont Arts Center,” explained Goldberg, who was then living on Long Island. Loving the Southern Vermont area, they embraced the lifestyle change.
Today, Goldberg can look back at his young entrepreneurial self, and laugh, “I am one of those older people now.” As a dad and a partner to a Monument Elementary School teacher, Goldberg defines his life in a transformative way. Doing that corporate work continues to pay the bills and, now at a “mature point” in his life, Goldberg has allowed himself the time to immerse himself in his art – and to grow professionally.
Taking pieces from his “free wielding phase,” Goldberg has created a book of interactive augmented reality art. It is currently the first of its kind on the Amazon marketplace. His techspressionist artist group has spread to encompass colleagues with similar interests from all over the world. A recent show presented the work of techspressionists from over 20 countries, including a Ukrainian and a Russian artist, and two Iranian women. And, according to Goldberg, the hashtag #techspressionist – which he coined in 2011 – has been used more than 80,000 times.
“When I create, I don’t really have any intention,” said Goldberg. “It just really comes from the inside, sort of the subconscious of where I’m at.” Regardless, every single piece in Goldberg’s collection is a reflection of where he was in the moment of creation, and they are all meaningful.
“Unconditional” by Colin Goldberg, currently on exhibition at Helmholz Fine Art Gallery in Manchester is a vibrant acrylic and ink on linen painting that pays homage and tips a hat to his partner, who sports a matching tattoo. (Note: “Unconditional” is a Colin Goldberg original, but is not a part of the augmented reality collection.)
His new vibrant acrylic and ink on linen painting “Unconditional,” on display at Helmholz Fine Art Gallery in Manchester, pays homage and tips a hat to his partner, who sports a matching tattoo.
“Urbanite,” the augmented reality art piece that hangs in the home of Colin Goldberg, brings Goldberg back to the days in New York City with its references to graffiti art, the sound of traffic, the callout for the 23rd Street subway stop, the percussion of street players, and the polyrhythm of jazz. (Note: “Urbanite” is a part of the augmented reality art collection and can be scanned with the Artivive app, in order to make it come alive.)
To view Colin Goldberg’s techspressionist augmented reality art, and watch the art come alive, scan the QR Code and download the Artivive app.
“Urbanite,” a part of the augmented reality collection, hangs in his home. The piece brings Goldberg back to his early days in New York City with its references to graffiti art, the sound of traffic, the callout for the 23rd Street subway stop, the percussion of street players, and the polyrhythm of jazz. The vector-based augmented reality clip is 23 seconds long.
“Like many of my works, this piece incorporates numbers of personal significance,” Goldberg explained, recalling the time when he was living and working in New York’s East Village and taking the F Train uptown to 23rd Street. “The 23-second duration of the piece, as well as the reference to 23rd Street in the audio sample, relates to the personal significance of that number to me – I was born on December 23, my daughter was born on June 23 at 23 minutes past 6 p.m.”
His augmented reality piece “Organic Gravity” reminds him of his father – an organic chemistry teacher – who passed away during the pandemic. When scanned, the viewer is immersed in an abstract jungle of swirling sound and shapes. His augmented reality piece “Still Moment” transports the view into a tranquil forest rainstorm. And, all of the 23 works of art profiled in Goldberg’s book, Metagraphs, contain a haiku introduction, “Each haiku has personal meaning to me,” said Goldberg.
“Still Moment” by Colin Goldberg is a vector-based digital drawing with AR-triggered audiovisual NFT that, when scanned with the Artivive app, transports the viewer to the tranquility of a forest rainstorm.
Goldberg pointed out that, as an abstract artist, the creation of the work emerges organically. What he sees in his art is often not what others see, and that is something that fascinates Goldberg, “I think that’s one thing that really interests me about abstract art, is hearing what other people see in the work.”
This April, Goldberg and three of his colleagues – Renata Janiszewska, Karen LaFleur, and Jan Swinburne – will be exhibiting for three months at the moving image works installation known as 150 Media Stream in Chicago. A public digital art installation, 150 Media Stream is divided into 89 LED blades. In total, the installation is over 150 feet long and 22 feet high, and is the largest structure of its kind in the city.
Along with four colleagues, local techspressionist Colin Goldberg will be exhibiting at the moving image works installation known as 150 Media Stream in Chicago from April 28 to July 20.
Additionally, Goldberg’s original paintings are on exhibition locally at Helmholz Fine Art, which is located at 442 Depot Street in Manchester, and on the gallery website helmholzfineart.com. Locally, his book is available for sale at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester.
Goldberg invites those interested in experiencing art beyond the two dimensional – those who truly want to see art come to life – to visit him at the Northshire Bookstore on Saturday, January 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. for a demonstration and a signing event for his new book. A reception will follow at the nearby Helmholz Fine Art Gallery from 4 to 6 p.m.
“Northshire Bookstore is thrilled to collaborate with Colin Goldberg and Helmholz Fine Art on an event featuring Goldbergs’ art and writing,” said Jess Hunsicker, event and marketing representative for Northshire Bookstore. “This is a great opportunity for us to foster community through art and reading.”
Lisa Helmholz-Adams, owner of Helmholz Fine Art Gallery, also expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming events.
“I’m excited about this collaboration with Northshire Bookstore, where people can get a signed copy of Colin Goldberg’s groundbreaking Metagraphs augmented reality art book, and then visit Helmholz Fine Art to see these artworks come to life with animation and music,” she said. “It is truly a captivating experience for viewers of all ages. Goldberg’s iconic artworks are portals into a new 21st-century genre that illustrates the brilliance of the artist’s imagination. His original techspressionist paintings, also on display at the gallery, mark the inception of a cutting-edge and expressive new movement.”
Both events are open to the public and free of charge. Additionally, Goldberg welcomes followers on Instagram, Facebook, and X at @colingoldberg.
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