Amorphous Polymers is a new approach to making fine art that creates a bridge between two and three-dimensional art. In The Clair Collection, Martin ‘Clair’ Eichinger, long recognized for his narrative bronze works, explores new methods that combine materials in innovative ways. It should be no surprise to those who have followed Eichinger’s work, that he has made a transition to epoxy resin after a 40-year long career in bronze sculpture. He is a Gemini, after all. Eichinger’s art has always teetered on the edge of risk. Working with epoxy resin is exciting and often unpredictable, “it’s like working with a crazy partner. You just don’t know what the polymer is going to do next,” Eichinger says.
"Three Toed Nebula"
While it may not be obvious at first glance, both narrative and abstract elements have intersected throughout Eichinger’s work during his long career as a fine artist. In the Clair Collection, you see Eichinger’s personal and current interests emerge. He tends to read science journals rather than art magazines, and one can recognize that his compositions are more connected to images from NASA and science, rather than to the more familiar earthly topics. These “experiments” as he calls them, are a ‘universe’ away from the romantic themes that inspired his previous sculptural work.
"Goldilocks Valley"
Like science, Eichinger’s journey with this medium has been experimental and evolutionary. Each of the polymers is a translucent composition layered over the previous to create totality. This method is similar to a water colorist’s process where all is revealed in the final outcome, unlike a painter that can cover previous layers with new ideas unrelated to the earlier work. The end result is a dynamic piece that can achieve entirely different effects based on the position of light. If presented in front of a window, it will change as the day unfolds, when daylight is replaced by interior lighting.
Our portfolio shows each work in a variety of ways-- front lit, back lit, or with light moving from one side to the other. However, any unique location in a home or business will have its own individual personality. One of the elements used in these creations is mica. Mica, when suspended in a polymer, naturally aligns in particular crystalline patterns that become part of the artist’s palette, and vary depending on the viewer’s angle. Appreciating the art becomes an adventure beyond the static experience of seeing it for the first time or seeing it in a still photograph.
From left to right: "Blue Shifting" right-lit, left-lit, and back-lit
While the image may be ever-changing based on light and positioning, these polymers each capture the resin's vibrance and fluid motion contained within a shape. Not only do they change with light, they mimic it. The result is a layered combination of floating colors, pearlescence, and crystals that create translucent galaxies and nebulas suspended in space.
“As an artist, I was always more interested in the third dimension of sculpture because the story changed as you walked around the work. Two-dimensional art did not have that ability to change unless you included special applications like laser produced holograms. Our Amorphous Polymers are about a half an inch thick, so you can both see into them and see them change as you move around or the lighting changes. I am finding this dynamic exploration to be even more exciting than full, in the round, sculpture,” Eichinger says.