James Sansing’s new body of work, Deletions, at Ampersand International Arts, consists of paintings and sculpture conceived around the time his daughter Tallulah was born. The paintings each represent a specific genetic deletion, named after each of the forty-seven genes his daughter is missing; the largest paintings are named after the suspected culprits of the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. The artwork presented in this exhibition is profound, and a viewer can see that Sansing is actively trying to make sense of the information, working to figure it out. The success of his art is in the deletion of material, rendering it senseless through a process of elevation. No matter how dense or special each piece of information is, Sansing renders each with a careful and willful attention.

Cracked and cast, scratched and sanded, painted and polished—Sansing entirely reforms the notion of the chromosome. Each separate piece of scientific information is integrated and re-qualified with a loving will, resulting in a string of forty-seven genes that seem to form a footpath through the swallowed and charred remains of a forest fire; Sansing’s path is direct and focused, as if a flash of lightning has consumed the forest. No matter how dark or heavy the material with which Sansing works, his work feels weightless. The untitled sculpture (2010) on the floor feels like it is going to walk; the chromosome becomes chroma. Sansing achieves this effect by deleting what is irrelevant or unnecessary—only what remains valuable shines through.

Deletions, installation view, 2010. Courtesy of the Artist and Ampersand International Arts, San Francisco.

Deletions is on view at Ampersand International Arts, in San Francisco, through October 10, 2010.

Jerad Walker is an artist and writer. He lives and works in Oakland and has shown his work in galleries throughout California.