Finding Balance in Abstraction
Format
Senior Art and Design Exhibition
Faculty Mentor Name
Lucinda Kasser
Additional Faculty Mentor Name
Jill Vasileff
Abstract/Artist Statement
Creating this series of abstract paintings has been exciting for me. They are unlike most work I have done in the past and are important as I explore new styles, pushing my limits into abstraction. I have always admired abstract expressionists and non-objective painters who seem to be able to communicate so much with only a few strokes of a brush and/or without immediately recognizable images. Through this body of work I am resolving the confusion I have had previously about how to approach intangible subjects and emotions in my artwork. Inspired by the dichotomies present in my life, my past and home country of The Bahamas I have chosen to work with contrasting palettes and compositions. To start this series, I worked with torn and cut papers to make non-objective collages. Working in a free association style, cutting and pasting quickly without a lot of conscious thought, I discovered which colors and compositions I felt were successful before trying anything in paint. Then, using the collages as compositional guides, I started to paint in oils. New expressive possibilities opened with each painting. Thin layers of bright color lay slick next to patches of thick, choppy paint. Symbols reappear in some pieces while in others get covered up many times over. Transparent and opaque layers speak differently, and I love that. They express the feelings I have about a truth being covered up or possibly revealed. Things are disguised and contradictions are everywhere. With paint, these feelings become visual.
Location
Reynolds Gallery
Start Date
17-4-2013 6:00 PM
End Date
17-4-2013 8:00 PM
Finding Balance in Abstraction
Reynolds Gallery
Creating this series of abstract paintings has been exciting for me. They are unlike most work I have done in the past and are important as I explore new styles, pushing my limits into abstraction. I have always admired abstract expressionists and non-objective painters who seem to be able to communicate so much with only a few strokes of a brush and/or without immediately recognizable images. Through this body of work I am resolving the confusion I have had previously about how to approach intangible subjects and emotions in my artwork. Inspired by the dichotomies present in my life, my past and home country of The Bahamas I have chosen to work with contrasting palettes and compositions. To start this series, I worked with torn and cut papers to make non-objective collages. Working in a free association style, cutting and pasting quickly without a lot of conscious thought, I discovered which colors and compositions I felt were successful before trying anything in paint. Then, using the collages as compositional guides, I started to paint in oils. New expressive possibilities opened with each painting. Thin layers of bright color lay slick next to patches of thick, choppy paint. Symbols reappear in some pieces while in others get covered up many times over. Transparent and opaque layers speak differently, and I love that. They express the feelings I have about a truth being covered up or possibly revealed. Things are disguised and contradictions are everywhere. With paint, these feelings become visual.