Glacier Structure Series
The Glacier Structure paintings began while David Andres was a graduate student at Wichita State University, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking between 1972 and 1974. For his thesis research, he examined early Landsat satellite photographs, which were newly available at the time and reshaped scientific and environmental understanding of the Earth’s surface.
Andres translated these images into large sewn paintings on sign cloth, a starched muslin used by sign painters. Acrylic and gesso were poured and layered across the sewn surfaces, with each work built through more than sixty layers of flowing paint. The sewn construction allowed for expansive, unstretched formats, while geometric graphite lines added after drying referenced the structure and mapping logic of satellite imagery.
The series continued after Andres relocated to Tucson in 1975 to study at the University of Arizona, where he accessed Landsat imagery through the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. During this period, he began incorporating ground mica into his surfaces to introduce a reflective quality responsive to light. The Glacier Structure series continued through 1980 and marks an early integration of environmental research and material experimentation in Andres’ practice.
Glacier Structure, Acrylic on sewn signcloth, 84X84, 1974
Glacier Structure No. 9 Acrylic and Mica on sewn canvas, 1974
Glacier Structure No. 7 Acrylic on Sign Cloth, 1974