Hughen is making some of the densest art produced today, layering pattern upon pattern and color

Amanda Hughen, “Consumptive,” 2007, ink, graphite and acrylic on Mylar.

upon color, creating multiple levels for viewers to excavate visually. “I layer geometric shapes until the rigid forms reach a critical mass, creating a release of energy, an uncontrolled viral growth, like a scientific experiment gone awry,” says the San Francisco artist.

When Hughen begins her paintings, she has no preconceived notion of what the final image will be. She begins by drawing a geometric pattern on paper using architectural and engineering templates collected from yard sales. She then silkscreens this image onto both sides of a sheet of translucent Mylar, which is the support for the painting. Next, by hand, she spontaneously works by hand both sides of the Mylar with ink, paint and pencil. Gradually, one side emerges as the front, and, as she puts it, “a picture happens.” Her imagery suggests landscapes, cellular forms, strange plant life and oceanic islands seen from high above. They are simultaneously scientific, synthetic and organic. But their essence is their ethereal beauty, brought about by a delicate linearity as well as gossamer-thin layers of pigment.