Finding Balance in Abstraction

Lead Author Major

Studio Art

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

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 17th, 6:00 PM Apr 17th, 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.