Title: “Obsidian Surge”
Artist: Lee Faul
Medium: Heavy-body acrylic with impasto and metallic silver on gallery-wrapped canvas
Dimensions: 80cm x 60cm
Year: 2025
Edition: Original, one of one
Description
A commanding monochromatic statement piece that bridges raw expressionism with refined minimalism. Executed in a dramatic diagonal sweep, thick ridges of acrylic are knife-laid and sculpted in high relief, creating a powerful sense of movement and geological force. The palette moves from absolute matte black through nuanced charcoal and graphite into luminous silver and near-white peaks, with metallic silver catching light in shifting, almost liquid flashes.
The heavy impasto texture gives the work a strikingly three-dimensional presence; the ridges cast their own shadows and appear to surge across the canvas like frozen magma or obsidian shards caught mid-eruption. Despite the intensity of the gesture, the composition retains an elegant restraint: negative space is used masterfully, allowing the viewer’s eye to travel along the dynamic flow before resting in serene, untouched areas of the canvas.
This is contemporary abstract expressionism is bold yet controlled, visceral yet luxurious. Perfect for a minimalist loft, a high-contrast executive office, or above a statement fireplace where the metallic highlights will animate with changing light throughout the day.