Artist Statement
My focus in painting is the abstract possibilities that can be teased out of a predetermined geometric grid using encaustic paint. My work appears simple but embodies a wide range of concepts contiguous to visual arts theory, in particular, materiality, transcendence and the sublime. The paintings are personal and social, yet rigorously formal.
My challenge is always; how to fuse ideas, sensations and materials to successfully tease out the abstract compositional synergies that lie latent within set, self-imposed parameters and then realise them in concrete visual form using primarily monochromatic colour schemes and line.
I have chosen what I believe is the more difficult path of working with restricted means. Confining myself to a limited vocabulary is at the same time both freedom and enslavement however simplicity and clarity are always key objectives at the forefront of my approach to work.
I attempt to make perceptually challenging images that expand upon key visual elements I’ve been developing for fourteen years. Recombinant variations of the “x”, the “triangle” and the “square” emerge in a host of permutations as the project strategy is pursued. These motifs are my guarantee of passage to freedom from the corner only to return there again when the body of work is finished. This escape from the painted corner is both exhilarating and liberating at the same time. Consistent, disciplined departure from the same point gives way to multiple, consecutive arrivals at new destinations (alternatives). Patient, stifling confinement gives way to an all-encompassing burst of creative freedom for a limited time, each time.
These are a few of the many artists that have influenced my thoughts and work.
Ad Rheinhart - Agnes Martin - Bridget Riley - Philip Guston
Cy Twombly - Donald Judd - Frank Stella - Giorgio Morandi
Jackson Pollock - Sean Scully - Pablo Picasso - Jason Martin
Piet Mondrian - Barnett Newman - Mark Rothko
My focus in painting is the abstract possibilities that can be teased out of a predetermined geometric grid using encaustic paint. My work appears simple but embodies a wide range of concepts contiguous to visual arts theory, in particular, materiality, transcendence and the sublime. The paintings are personal and social, yet rigorously formal.
My challenge is always; how to fuse ideas, sensations and materials to successfully tease out the abstract compositional synergies that lie latent within set, self-imposed parameters and then realise them in concrete visual form using primarily monochromatic colour schemes and line.
I have chosen what I believe is the more difficult path of working with restricted means. Confining myself to a limited vocabulary is at the same time both freedom and enslavement however simplicity and clarity are always key objectives at the forefront of my approach to work.
I attempt to make perceptually challenging images that expand upon key visual elements I’ve been developing for fourteen years. Recombinant variations of the “x”, the “triangle” and the “square” emerge in a host of permutations as the project strategy is pursued. These motifs are my guarantee of passage to freedom from the corner only to return there again when the body of work is finished. This escape from the painted corner is both exhilarating and liberating at the same time. Consistent, disciplined departure from the same point gives way to multiple, consecutive arrivals at new destinations (alternatives). Patient, stifling confinement gives way to an all-encompassing burst of creative freedom for a limited time, each time.
These are a few of the many artists that have influenced my thoughts and work.
Ad Rheinhart - Agnes Martin - Bridget Riley - Philip Guston
Cy Twombly - Donald Judd - Frank Stella - Giorgio Morandi
Jackson Pollock - Sean Scully - Pablo Picasso - Jason Martin
Piet Mondrian - Barnett Newman - Mark Rothko
