I've been working on this piece for many years, just as I do with most of my work. It is never finished and always evolving...
“Hybrid Abstraction” is an old, ever transforming piece crafted from deep layers of resin and oil paint. I like to think that it transcends the traditional boundaries of artistic expression, much like the biological phenomenon of hybridization transcends the boundaries of species and genera. In biology, a hybrid emerges as a unique entity, synthesizing the distinct characteristics of its diverse parentage, often resulting in an organism that possesses hybrid vigour–exhibiting traits that are more pronounced than either of its progenitors.
This artwork embodies a similar concept, where the fluidity and translucence of resin intermingle with the rich, tactile depth of oil paint. Each stroke and layer in convergence and divergence mirrors the genetic complexity found in biological hybrids. The work does not merely blend colours and materials; it fuses disparate techniques and philosophies, challenging the observer to reconsider the very essence of abstraction. Just as a hybrid in nature is not a mere intermediary but a robust, distinct entity, this artwork is an artistic synthesis, a tangible representation of the conceptual interplay between the physical and the abstract, the known and the unknowable.
As the resin gradually engulfs the composition, each layer adds not only to the visual depth but also to the physical heft of the piece. This progressive encapsulation transforms the artwork into a dense block, where the weight of the material echoes the profoundness of its conceptual nothingness. It becomes a tangible manifestation of the void, a heavy embodiment of the elusive and often intangible nature of abstraction itself. A form that visually and metaphorically represents an ethereal absence.
This artwork, like most of Milo’s artwork, evolves with time. Every few months or years the container is opened and progress is made. Well, perhaps we shouldn’t call it progress, it’s more of a transformation or a metamorphosis.
This self-contained organism has adapted for a specific vital function, namely to mimic nature. It appears gradually and seems to attain full complexity and specialization as it grows. This is an illusion.
In 2022 Milo began to burn parts of the work, a process that will continue until the time of his death.
Oil, resin, paper, leather mounted on burnt wood.
15×18 Framed
2010-ongoing