When most people think of the word geometrics, they probably relate it to geometry or simple shapes. High school math classes have nothing on Carl Gombert’s “Geometrics” series. These pieces focus on creating radial symmetry and structure through simple rotations. Every piece is made by hand. He chose the title Geometrics “because ‘Stairway to Heaven’ has already been used. Or maybe because the work uses fairly simple geometric structures as underpinnings for fairly goofy combinations of things,” Gombert said.
“Geometrics” is on exhibit from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Elizabethtown College’s Hess Gallery. The exhibit continues through December.
… the work uses fairly simple geometric structures as underpinnings for fairly goofy combinations of things.”
Gombert’s first series show was his senior show at the University of Akron, Ohio, in 1982 and, from there he continued his academic and artistic career. A few years ago, he met Elizabethtown College’s Milton Friedly, professor of art, when they began evaluating portfolios as part of the AP Studio Art program. Friedly invited Gombert to showcase his work at the college.
To prepare for a show, the artist picks pieces that gel stylistically or thematically. “I try to bring more than I will need and then make decisions about what to include when I actually see the work in the exhibition space,” Gombert said. If need be, he also will send some of his work ahead of him and allow someone else to arrange it for him at the venue.
“I have always been terminally curious and have always been interested in many things,” Gombert said about his interest in different artistic styles. To him, techniques in the media are a means rather than an end. There are plenty of artists out there who work in multiple media and utilize multiple techniques to achieve their personal styles. Gombert chooses to focus on the concept of a piece, in order to ensure that the chosen media and techniques will be used in service to the idea of the piece itself. If the reason for creating a work in the first place is sound, then the decisions about the media or technique can take a back seat to the work’s message.
His curiosity has enabled Gombert to gain interest in many artistic areas. He reads a lot and watches movies, has worked at a musician, stagehand and scenic designer and takes courses every semester, from math, to science to economics. “I believe that an artist is often nothing more than a type of coffeemaker whose goal is to fill her head with beans, grind them finely, and see what drips out later,” he said. “Of course in this analogy, the beans are better books, interesting conversations, travel to new locales, discovering new artists (even artists of the past) and so on.”
It is important to Gombert to let new ideas and experiences interact and intermingle with each other. Art is as intellectual as anything, and artists need to know how to think and fill their lives with the things about which they think. “As far as artistic influences go, I am inspired by all kinds of artists,” Gombert said. “The list is, literally, endless.”