Phillip Lynam is an Indianapolis artist who works as the Chief Designer at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. His body of work, “Locus,” brings his orientation to design and pattern creation alongside his talent with acrylic and gouache. The two-dimensional pieces have immense depth, like a look through binoculars or layered panes of glass. At once, the works appear as a wide wall of wood grain or a fragment placed under a microscope.

Intraclasts. Acrylic on panel. 24” x 36”

Lynam uses this effect as a play into our “screen-obsessed culture,” where stationary, physically flat paintings both contrast and mimic the televisions and phones we often find ourselves captivated by. Lynam aims to create the sense of immersion that an intriguing piece of art and, yes, a screen can transmit when they capture our attention. The way images are projected represents something “real and false, present and absent,” Lynam describes. Like a good narrative that can make you forget where you are, the paintings dance in front of the eye with qualities of optical illusion, where elements grow or shrink, depending on your focus.

The paintings exhibited in “Locus” carry an “internal illumination,” a supernatural or ghostly glow that brings an undercurrent of life and movement to the geometric works. Lynam employs rich greens, blues, and reds in his arrangement of forms, striking a balance between digital design and naturescape. Textural marks and patterns have the effect of stamps and carvings, with images arising like a distortion on a film negative or a print left behind by a heavier object.

“Locus” by Phillip Lynam will be on display in the Harrison Center’s Annex Gallery for the month of October. The exhibit can be viewed in-person by appointment and in our online gallery, where all pieces are available for purchase.