Denny Bales · Design Through Destruction

February 16, 2019 – March 4, 2019 

Artist Denny Bales 

Design Through Destruction

Starting point: the natural arabesques within a slab of wood. Using a “fire pen” to apply his own visual grammar, Denny begins to extract an optical illusion from these pre-existing grains and patterns. His work—comprised simply of wood, paint, and wood-burning—takes inspiration from vintage geometric lighting design slides and age-old textile patterns. Equally interwoven and psychedelic, his kaleidoscopic wooden tapestries offer a counterpoint to the existing melodies and
refrains found in wood.

About the Artist: 

Denny, a Los Angeles native, graduated from Point Loma University after coming to his art practice as part healing process, part creative outlet at various points in his life. He worked as an art teacher in Palos Verdes and El Segundo, then switched to a career designing one-of-a-kind lighting installations for live music shows, including at Desert Daze. Now he balances that work—some of which got shut down after the 2016 Oakland warehouse fire—with the complementary pursuits of woodworking, pyrography, and music.