This new body of work by Alteronce Gumby was created in direct response to his recent visit to Charles Ross’ monumental earthwork, Star Axis (projected completion 2026) located near Ross’ off the grid studio in northeast New Mexico. In the summer of 2023, Gumby spent an evening alone in Star Tunnel, an element of the complex constructed in alignment with the Earth’s axis and the North Star Polaris. As one ascends the tunnel, the framing of Polaris shifts, revealing cosmic alignments of the past, present, and future. This experience directly inspired Gumby’s two-panel, mixed media painting Starry Night(2024). Among gradations of color and texture, spiral galaxy formations populate the work, reflecting light and shifting perspectives through glass layered and tinted with acrylic paint.

Often referencing site-specific experiences, Gumby’s paintings are embedded with natural elements such as metals and gemstones originating from mineral-rich areas, including quartz mined by the artist in Mount Ida, Arkansas and asteroid particles the artist recovered from Meteor Crater in Winslow, Arizona. Gumby sources materials to convey a cosmic perspective. Channeling the geological history of these minerals, his paintings contain energy, the metaphysical aspect of color and light.