Seattle-based artist Jaq Chartier creates sensuous abstract paintings that are a compelling mix of art and science. Her minimalist compositions of blurred ovoids and inky lines chart the interaction of stains and dyes as they leach, bloom, bleed, merge, and mutate. Inspired in part by images of DNA gel electrophoresis, Chartier investigates the migration of various stains through layers of paint and acrylic gels. All of her works are “tests” to discover something about materials and what they do.

Her work captures the unseen moment of the creative process, the crack between cause and effect, space and time. Through experimentation, observation and notation, Chartier’s paintings provide commentary on both the visual culture and everyday practice of scientific investigation by highlighting similarities between artistic and scientific practice. Chartier’s work has been exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, and Ahlen, Germany. For more, visit http://www.jaqbox.com .