Vincent Como Explores The Depths Of Darkness Through Minimalist Expression
The Master Of Monochrome
Vincent Como discusses his 25-year artistic journey exploring black as a medium, combining minimalism with philosophy, science, and occult influences while challenging traditional art perspectives through various mediums.
Vincent Como stands as a masterful explorer of the void, pushing the boundaries of contemporary minimalism through his unwavering dedication to the color black. For over 25 years, this Brooklyn-based artist has transformed the monochromatic palette into a profound artistic statement, creating works that challenge our perception of depth, absence, and materiality.
The raw power of Como’s artistic vision shines through in every piece he creates. His groundbreaking exhibitions like “Paradise Lost” and “The Negative Approach Operating System” showcase not just technical excellence, but a deep philosophical engagement with the nature of darkness itself. Como’s work transcends simple aesthetic choices, delving into the realm where art meets metaphysics, where the absence of color becomes a presence that demands contemplation.
As Feature Writer of WOWwART magazine, I am thrilled to present this intimate conversation with an artist whose influence on contemporary minimalism cannot be overstated. Como’s work has garnered attention from prestigious publications including The Wall Street Journal and Art 21, yet his artistic practice remains refreshingly uncompromising and authentic. In this revealing interview, Como shares insights into his creative process, his philosophical inspirations, and the evolution of his distinctive artistic language.
Through our discussion, readers will discover how Como’s fascination with black extends beyond mere visual impact, encompassing elements of astrophysics, philosophy, and the occult. His thoughtful responses reveal an artist deeply engaged with both the material and conceptual aspects of his craft, offering a rare glimpse into the mind of one of today’s most intriguing contemporary artists.
Como’s masterful manipulation of black transcends conventional boundaries, creating profound works that challenge viewers to explore the depths of perception.
How has the colour black evolved as both a material and conceptual focus in your work over the years?
Black has been the constant. For over 25 years I’ve used a monochrome field of black as the void, or absence; a scrying mirror for meditation/reflection; an absorber (of light/information/interpretation); and as the cumulative presence/object/content – the mark which both conveys information as a whole as well as obscures information. This restriction to Black has opened up a whole universe of otherness through material inversions and various other tactics that allow me to mine the subject much more thoroughly.
Can you share the inspiration behind your 2013 solo exhibition *Paradise Lost* and how it relates to the themes you typically explore?
By and large, I’m a ruminant; I digest ideas over a long period of time. That series grew out of an article describing a fire damaged Tintoretto painting on view in Venice alongside a brown Alburto Burri a chrome from the 60’s, and I wanted to explore the connotations surrounding an old master painting that gets destroyed and thereby transformed. The overthrow of the classical form, the violation and scarring of perfection, the loss of Paradise, etc. Even though these are monochromes, I built the paintings up using the old masters’ layering techniques and went all in, two coats of varnish and all. Installed with a shelf, or altar, underneath for a series of burning candles to simultaneously venerate them as historical simulacra, and impose an environment of active transformation through the variables of heat, soot, and time. These are all things that are echoed in other works; a desire to subvert the traditional, the use of repetition and accretion, the slow decay and interplay of outside forces on an object over time.
As a founding member of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, how has your involvement in this artist-run space influenced your creative practice?
It forces me out of my hermetic studio practice and challenges me to collaborate with others to support someone else’s idea and vision. Having a front-row seat to how other artists juggle the demands of their practice has been an invaluable and eye opening tool. There’s a whole shadow-government of behind the scenes work and organization involved in an artists practice beyond just making the work itself. Typically if you do a studio visit with another artist you might snag a brush cleaning or material storage hack, but on this end you get to see the background of how another artist thinks through the logistics of presenting their work for an audience.
You’ve exhibited in a variety of mediums, from installation to painting to artist books. How do you approach working in such diverse forms while maintaining a cohesive artistic vision?
The format and material are always subservient to the concept. If I want to discuss “Painting with a capital P” stuff, I would use oil and linen. If I want to subvert that tradition I would use something explicitly non-art or industrial. There’s a very literal approach as well as a strong via negative thread in the way I work, describing something through the things it isn’t.
With exhibitions across the United States and abroad, how have different locations and audiences shaped the reception of your work?
Everyone brings their own history to the table when they encounter a work, which means everyone’s entry point is a little different/unique. The audience and location may be new, but there is almost always a curious mindset, and a willingness to engage with an unfamiliar object. You don’t get a flood of random passers-by who just happen to wander into an exhibition, it’s usually a destination or event, so that tends to skew the audience into a somewhat already-informed body upon entering.
Locations can have their own ghosts or histories that color the reading. That’s mostly a coincidence, but the one time that really hit me was through a show I did in Baltimore, MD in 2016. Baltimore is adjacent to Washington DC, and the exhibition opened the weekend before Trump got elected. It was titled: “No Hope. Not Now, Not Ever.” which was mostly coincidence – I have a running google doc that’s filled with potential and half titles I don’t want to forget – but I really think that show took a darker turn than I was expecting because of that election. I think there was no way for that to not impact someone’s experience of the exhibition and the works in-the-moment, or to see it acting as an explicit commentary, rather than a chance occurrence.
Your work draws on concepts from fields like astrophysics, philosophy, and the occult. How do these areas of interest intersect in your creative process?
To varying degrees things like theory, belief, and ritual all play a crucial role in fleshing out the parameters of my inquiry and the approach it takes. Sometimes these may be overshadowed by the time the object is completed, but it’s still imbued within the piece.
