About the exhibition:

My work explores how complex structures emerge from systems following simple rules. I experiment with alternative methods of paint application to generate microscopic natural patterns which I frequently edit or change, then I add exquisite detail, along with realistic objects, with surreal but relevant connections.
My content is generated through meditation. I allow my sub-conscious to take all of my obsessions with nature and science and combine them into new forms that I've never seen before. I'm trying to capture the images my sub-conscious creates, and through them transmit my sub-conscious state to the viewer, but in the same way that the same dream means different things to different people, everyone will get a different subjective meaning from my work.
The other goal of my work is purely aesthetic: to generate a pure aesthetic experience in the viewer. Schopenhauer had a theory of aesthetics that the goal of art was to pull the viewer out of their body, out of time, our of their identity, and take over their mind with stimulus, new ideas, drama, humor, any form of beauty, so long as it was overwhelming and complete. That experience is what I've been seeking for myself as I've taught myself how to paint, and it's what I want viewers to see when they see my work. I want to bring that overwhelming, ego-shattering beauty that I've seen to other people. And I think I can do that.

Artist's Bio:

Andrew Cullen is a self-taught painter, majoring in Photography at Ohio State. He is from all over Ohio, moving 47 times as a child, currently living in Columbus. He has been teaching high school art for ten years.