I found out about Steven Baris and his work through an exhibition of his that I saw at Pentimenti Gallery about six or seven years ago, I think. His use of plexiglas and mylar as supports for his oil and acrylic paintings along with the sense of space he was able to achieve, controlled use of high-keyed colors and intricate compositions drew me to see more of his work at later shows. At some point, we met at either one of my shows or his here in Philly and have stayed in touch ever since. Steven often has a couple of projects going on at once. One such project is Exurban Archipelago, where Baris makes use of Google satellite images to map out and manipulate architectural forms that are similar to those used in his paintings. In addition to the roll-over images that you can explore, there is a fictitioius (and funny) interview where Baris delves into his theories about exurban spatial relationships. Steven Baris's Exurban Archipelago was also recently mentioned on The Artblog.
