Rene Gortat
March, 2023 | By Ubique Art
Rene Gortat
Radiator, 2021, Oak LEDs, H20 x L18 x W7
Where are you currently based?
Brooklyn, NY.
What led you to create your work, “Radiator"?
Throughout my life I have moved, on average, once a year. This constant movement fostered a sense of adventure but also one of instability. The radiator helps to define the concept of home and a sense of security.
Can you describe your creative process and the techniques or mediums you use to create the work?
This piece is constructed out of red oak and LED lights and grew out of another series titled "Doodles". This was an experiment of creating a radiator that radiates warmth in the form of light.
What inspired you to become an artist, and what drives you to continue creating your art today?
I have always made things, it gives me purpose and agency. Creating grounds my existence.
How has your art evolved over time, and what experiences or influences have contributed to this evolution?
My love of bright colors and clearly defined shapes has not changed since my first paintings. However, the ideas have evolved. Questions about the meaning of my work used to irritate me, now they are the driving force of creation.
Rene Gortat is a New York City-based artist of Polish descent. In 2012, he earned a BA in Art and a BA in Philosophy from Lycoming College in Pennsylvania, where he first discovered the satisfaction of creation as an art form. And in 2019, he received an MFA degree from Syracuse University.
At the age of nine, Gortat and his family immigrated from a small village in Poland to a slightly bigger New York City. Throughout his life, Gortat has moved, on average, once a year. This constant movement fostered a sense of adventure but also one of instability. His work explores the concepts of home and displacement, and of abandonment and the search for security.