Artist Statement
At heart I’m an experimentalist.
My background in math and physics informs my work in geometric abstraction. My paintings are about color theory and creating depth in nonobjective images. Hans Hoffmann’s push-pull concept is an integral part of my investigation of depth and movement in abstract space through the use of color alone. Tone is also an indicator of depth and I play with the conflict between color and tone to produce tension and motion creating a type of uncertainty principle confounding the eye. I completely fill the canvas with forms so the eye has no place to rest. This creates the illusion of movement.
I start with a concept for a painting, then elaborate the idea with drawing. As I see the image unfold, I make additional changes. I play with tone, rhyming, Sloan color chords, and mathematical relationships between elements to create a more compelling space. As I paint, I choose colors, remixing them until they are right for the effect I want.
My hope is that the viewer will share a sense of playful discovery and study the interactions in the painting.
About
During a career in science and engineering, I learned about abstract expressionism in a documentary. At that time I discovered Kandinsky, Mondrian, Arp, LeWitt, Hoffmann, and Stella among others. Color theory, perspective, and geometric art strongly attracted me. After retiring early, I earned a BFA in painting. I learned about many other artists and styles of painting. I found that contemporary art is not restricted to narrow modalities like Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, or Conceptual Art. Essentially anything goes for style. The underlying principle or concept defines the meaning of the work; style is secondary. I found this especially freeing.
At the same time, I found that I also liked to work with traditional methods. Mixing paint is very much like mindful meditation and enables me to create the exact color I need. I found that my taste started to run toward duller colors, which create a sense of subdued emotions and more intellectual depth. I like to work with a limited palette, especially for portraits
I became intrigued by Chinese ink painting when I had the opportunity to study landscape painting in the People's Republic of China. Chinese principles of composition meshed with my interest in Taoist and Zen philosophy. In Chinese painting much of the importance of the work is the mark-making and ink characteristics. Composition is governed by the unification of opposites, which is an implementation of the yin-yang duality. Though these precepts were developed for ink painting, they are equally useful for any painting. Interestingly, they actually relate to some of the theoretical work of Kandinsky.
My current body of work is a series of geometric paintings. They are an exploration of Hans Hoffmann’s study of depth merged with the asceticism of Sol LeWitt’s conceptualism. LeWitt used mathematical relationships to design his pieces. The concept was the art. LeWitt left it up to others to actually make the drawings and paintings. He was the architect and the implementors were simply the workers who built the actual object to his specifications. This ascetic art is very cerebral, but lacks the impact of more emotionally dynamic art like abstract expressionism. The mind of the artist is in the work, but not their hand.
Though this appeals to me intellectually, this austere art by itself is too monotonous for my artistic taste. Like LeWitt, I use mathematical relationships in my design. To breathe life into it, I amplify the patterns with color and texture to create depth in abstract space. This is a continuation of Hans Hoffmann’s work to produce the impression of distance without traditional perspective. Mixing unique colors creates interactions between the shapes to create push-pull effects. The arrangement of forms helps guide the eye through the painting, creating rhythm and movement. I have employed what I call rhyming, which helps balance the composition. Placing shapes of the same hue next to one another, where one is simply lighter than the other, makes the couplet more cohesive and pleasing. This is much like rhyming in poetry or lyrics.
My previous work dealt primarily with people as psychological beings in an increasingly complex world. This new direction is in direct opposition to my earlier work, which used gestural marks and loose composition. To an extent, this new approach is a reaction to the chaos and uncertainty, which has come to dominate our lives. Order can be a remedy for the continuing turmoil in our lives. This shift in my work also represents the resolution of opposites into a complete whole as defined in Chinese philosophy and painting. I continue work on these themes in an ongoing series, especially portraits and images from my visit to China.