“Techspressionism” — a term invented to describe how to view Colin Goldberg’s work — uses technology as a vehicle for expression within a fine-art context. The exhibit, curated by Scott Bluedorn, investigates the digital implications of the gestural mark, following in the tradition of the Abstract Expressionist painters in the past. 

Colin’s background is of mixed heritage: his father is Jewish and his mother is Honolulu-born, of Japanese ancestry on both sides; his maternal grandmother Kimiye was a lifelong practitioner of Shodo, the art of Japanese calligraphy. This show includes a series of works which pay homage to this tradition.

“New Plastic Shodo,” the title of the work above, is a double-entendre, referring to both the plastic shading style used in the the digital rendering, but also Mondrian’s ideas of “The New Plastic” and neoplasticism. Colin considers Mondrian’s late work to be a predecessor of the digital aesthetic — his flat colors and simple geometries surely have informed today’s UI trend of “flat design.” The digital drawings are directly printed upon the hand-painted surface using an Epson pigment-based printer, with highlights on the vessel forms hand-painted with gouache or acrylic to complete the works.

Colin earned a BA in Studio Art with a Painting concentration from Binghamton University in 1994, where he studied under Angelo Ippolito, a second-generation New York School Abstract Expressionist painter. Afterward, he was offered a full scholarship to Bowling Green State University in Ohio to pursue a MFA in Computer Art in 2005, where he began developing a mature body of work combining digital and traditional media, including laser etchings on wood and marble.