Artist Statement, Bio & CV
STATEMENT
The resulting works exist somewhere between painting, sculpture, geology, and topography. They are not depictions of specific places so much as emotional terrains — environments that feel simultaneously ancient, atmospheric, and perceptual.
Much of my practice is rooted in biophilic response: the instinctive human attraction to natural systems, texture, rhythm, and pattern. I’m interested in the way organic materials carry memory, and how abstraction drawn directly from nature can evoke recognition without literal representation.
In an era increasingly dominated by synthetic surfaces and digital imagery, I see the grain of wood as source material, collaborator and ultimately my canvas — a living record of time, pressure, climate, and growth.
By carving, shaping, dying, and carefully assembling, I reveal atmospheric landscapes and phenomena that appear latent within the wood. Mountains emerge from live edges. Horizons form through shifts in density and grain direction. Color and light behave as both subject and collaborator.
BIO
Scott Solary is a contemporary visual artist and a Florida native who has lived in Brooklyn, NY, Ft. Collins, CO, Berlin, Germany and currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida. His work explores the intersection of natural systems, perception, and material memory through sculpted and assembled wood surfaces.
Working directly with grain patterns, knots, and organic figure, Solary treats wood not simply as a medium, but as an active collaborator in the formation of each piece. Through mindful assembly, shaping, and dying, he reveals atmospheric abstractions that evoke geological formations, shifting horizons, and environmental phenomena.
His Grainscapes are the result of a self-developed artistic process that reimagines wood grain as both subject and collaborator. Rather than treating wood as a surface to paint over, Solary allows each board’s natural figure, live edge, and knots to determine the composition. Coastlines and mountain ranges emerge from the contours of a live edge, and atmospheric landscapes evolve through a dialogue between intention and the inherent character of the material.
This approach has become a distinct and evolving visual language. While rooted in reclaimed and locally sourced wood, the work continues to expand through the integration of optical glass and canvas, extending the possibilities of the Grainscape beyond a single medium.
Rooted in ideas of biophilia and environmental perception, the work invites viewers to engage with material as a living record of growth, pressure, climate, and time. His latest work continues this evolution of exploration by integrating materials such glass and canvas with wood and delving into creation of abstract imagery utilizing unique tools and methods.
Solary’s work has been exhibited at the Sightline Gallery in the St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport, Forever Florida Gallery and the Dali Museum. He is a retail gallery artist at Florida Craft Art and The Werk Gallery. He’s a member of PAVA, WADA and the Morean Arts Center and continues to develop a body of work centered on grain as source, canvas, and collaborator.
CV
SELECT EXHIBITIONS & GROUP SHOWS
June 2026 – 10-year anniversary of The Dalí Dozen, an exclusive one-night art event in the Salvador Dali Museum featuring 12 local artists selected by the Zodiac Membership Committee.
May 2026 – Solo Show: Second Nature: Wood Grain as Source, Collaborator and Canvas, Forever Florida Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
2/19– 6/15/26 – RISE, Creative Pinellas Sightline Gallery, St Pete – Clearwater International Airport (PIE)
2/28 – 3/1/26 – One of five selected artists in The Gasparilla Festival of the Arts’ Local Artist Spotlight
1/17 – 2/13/26 – Gasparilla Local Artist Spotlight preview group show, Epicurean Hotel, Tampa, FL
11/21 – 12/04 – 2025 Arts Annual, Creative Pinellas Gallery, Largo, FL
PRESS
Second Nature, Solo Show
RISE, Creative Pinellas St. Pete – Clearwater International Airport Group Show
Gasparilla Local Artist Spotlight, Epicurean Hotel Group Show
AFFILIATIONS
Professional Association of Visual Artists (PAVA)
Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA)
Artist Enclave of Historic Kenwood (AEHK)
The Werk Gallery
Florida Craft Arts
Morean Arts Center
