About this Artwork

The Shadow Boxer and skipstep paintings grow out of an interest in the paradox of spatial comprehension found in abstract painting.

As with the shadow boxing practice in which the athlete spars with his or her own shadow, Bolt finds that the illusory qualities of abstract composition initiate a similar exercise of perception and expectation.

Using the geometric vocabulary found in architectural schemata, Bolt tries to create a dynamic tension between foreground and background, center and edge, inside and out. The dual spatial identities that the myriad forms have with one another create a visual riddle.

His goal as a painter is not to solve the riddle as much as pose it as a unique perceptual challenge. And it is that challenge that fulfills the experience one has with the painting.