Citing such influences as the “desert” landscape of the West, neon signage, and optical paintings of the 1960s and 70s, Tim Bavington reinvents a language typically associated with hard-edged abstraction. His electric colour combinations, at times interrupted by near-caustic strips of contrasting hues, are indicators of speed and temperature as well as symbols of sound. In his works, Bavington balances a systematic approach with intuitive paint handling, resulting in canvases that bridge the gap between real and synthetic, digital and analogue, straight symbol and coded metaphor.

Bavington has worked within the strict format of the vertical stripe for ten years, exploring multiple theories of organisation as the basis for making a painting. In recent years, he has turned his attention to music and the correlation between colour and sound. Taking a sample of music – a riff, guitar solo or sometimes an entire song – he matches the 12-tone musical scale with the 12-hue colour wheel. Each note is assigned a colour and the length of note determines the stripe widths. The vertical stripes are applied to the canvas using an automotive spray gun. Painted unmasked, they create a blurred, vibrating surface. Bavington does not set out to capture music with painting, nor the spirit of the credited song. Instead, the musical scores are purely used as frameworks and mathematical underpins for experiments in compositions, constantly testing the relationships between colours.

Tim Bavington was born in England in 1966 and now lives in Las Vegas.