Phillip Livingston
Greenville, SC
Contemporary American artist combining hard-edge precision with fluidity and chance
Message
Originally from Mobile, AL, Phillip studied art at the University of South Alabama where he received a BFA in Graphic Design and Painting. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, he worked as an art director at ad agencies in Boston, Washington DC and Atlanta.
Influenced by artists such as Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Marc Rothko, and Gerhard Richter, Phillip also shares a deep affinity for post-modern design and typography, most notably from the deconstruction and Bauhaus movements.
Statement
My art is an expression of mood or feeling meant to evoke a deeper essence of rawness.
I’ve always been fascinated with the beauty of decay and the raw aesthetic of the deconstructed, authentic world – surfaces in various stages of natural transition that begin to reveal the layers underneath. The stripping of the outer layers reveals random yet unique designs, as if to expose a deeper layer of meaning or tell a story.
I find inspiration in multiple sources, such as traffic worn street markings, rust stained concrete walls, weathered signage, graffiti, typography and geometric forms. I like to merge unexpected elements to offer a different way of looking at things – like fluidity and chance with hard-edge precision – yet create a sense of balance and flow and feeling of satisfaction.
My technique involves a variety of methods including layering, masking, scraping and sanding back to reveal portions of previous layers.