Orrin Whalen is a wrangler of materials from paint skins, resin, concrete. Through experimentation, he explores the alchemy of each material, using them in the most uncharacteristic ways and pushing their textures and unkempt boundaries. Whalen crafts human-sized paint skins composed of multilayered painterly techniques, which are then dissected into latex fragments.

The color palettes and textures of the paint skins are drawn from photographs of daily life, the artist’s garden, and foreign destinations, often depicting heavily patinated objects and locations. These paint fragments, or paint chips, are then collaged to reveal deeper imagery, alluding to aerial landscapes, tree branches, and other moments from nature—calling back to the places where many of the original photographs were taken.

Orrin lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.