David Goldes

David Goldes (born 1947) uses chemical and electrical transformations of graphite and silver to form the basis of this latest body of work. Electrified, the drawings yield material evidence—burns, holes and surface scarring—while the chemically altered silver leaf shows unplanned swaths of color.

This limited edition of 25 copies includes a silver gelatin print, numbered and signed by Goldes.

Electrical phenomena including electrostatics, high-voltage arcing, Faraday’s first transformer, water conductivity, electrified graphite drawings and other inventions and experiments form the basis of these works. Goldes uses commonplace materials such as string, pins, wire, pencil lines and bright colored backgrounds. The photographs reveal how electricity jumps gaps, repels, attracts, arcs, destroys and often confounds our expectations.

Electrical phenomena including electrostatics, high-voltage arcing, Faraday’s first transformer, water conductivity, electrified graphite drawings and other inventions and experiments form the basis of these works. Goldes uses commonplace materials such as string, pins, wire, pencil lines and bright colored backgrounds. The photographs reveal how electricity jumps gaps, repels, attracts, arcs, destroys and often confounds our expectations.