My new pieces, “The Vessel” and “The Vines”, are companion works that together represent the complex dynamics formed within a blossoming romantic relationship. Respectfully a painting and a soft sculpture piece, the pair takes into account my previous work as a printmaker for art and fashion by emphasizing movement in line and dimension. While my past works have focused on addressing antiquated shapes in a modern context, my new works attempt to marry my appreciation for line and form with a matured sense of emotional expression.
In recalling the personal experiences of maintaining balance inside a new relationship, I was immediately fascinated with the “pull of attraction and vulnerability” but also the accompanying “push of resistance and fear” that must coexist with the former to function correctly. Respectfully, these concepts are represented by “The Vessel”, an acrylic painting, and “The Vines”, a draped soft sculpture painting that is treated with gel medium. While the medium of painting expands upon my previously print focused works, the specific use of draped canvas in “The Vines” delivers a sense of impression in its dimension or “relationship history” that is physically wrinkled and put in place by gel medium. This is seen in comparison to a more traditional and clean painting presentation in “The Vessel”.
Motifs throughout the work are inspired by the fragility yet simultaneous strength of plants. Whether it’s the delicate coiling lines within “The Vessel” or the surrounding bold and jagged pillars of plants in “The Vines”, the compositions retain a sense of asymmetry which indicates a differing of experiences within the participants of a new romance. While the future of the pairing is unclear, the forces acting upon the romance highlight the importance of embracing the present.
