My work is not attempting to represent an outside reality. I want the viewer to respond only to what is in front of them. Paring down to simple forms is often thought to give a less rich experience for the viewer. Quite the opposite is true however. I believe these simple elements create the possibility for a more direct and pure relationship between the viewer and the work. I am attempting to be entirely free of any basis in directly observed reality with no symbolic implications. As Van Doesbery wrote in 1930, "nothing is more concrete or real than a line, a color, or a plane of color."

I choose to work with salvage materials. There are several reasons for this. One is a statement about the environment and our culture’s rapid disposal of commercial goods. The other is about reclaiming our environment and resurrecting these cast off materials. Mostly it is about aesthetics.

The salvage materials I use come from automobiles, architectural elements, and industrial equipment. After much thoughtful and deliberate searching for materials, I rough cut them on-site so I can transport the large sheets of steel or lumber back into my studio. There I use industrial machines to precision cut them into usable parts. With some of the work I will alter the original surfaces. The substructures are made from furniture grade Baltic Birch. I create many different shapes, sizes, and dimensionality depending on the idea I am exploring. The work is exacting in the process with a high degree of precision and also raw, immediate, and fresh.

Ted Larsen was born in South Haven Michigan in 1964. He has been exhibiting his work for more than 20 years all over the country in solo and group shows. Larsen has won several awards including the 2008 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. His work is in several private and corporate collections including New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Janus Funds, Denver, Colorado, Capital One, Richmond, Virginia, Forbes, Inc., New York, New York to name a few.