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“These paintings are
loosely based on the circle. They explore the wide range of possibilities
that the motif offers. In the process of making the work, circles are laid
over each other in an effort to create an effect of slow, deliberate
movement across the picture plane. The resulting dynamic is that of an
undulating playing field, reminiscent of an underwater experience or a visit
to a biology lab, as seen through a microscope.
The densely patterned forms evoke organic,
botanical and natural environments on one hand, and reference the world of
modern design on the other. The boundaries between the two are blurred, as
nature coexists with elements of design to create a family of images which
are very much a sum of all their individual parts. The relationships between
these elements are what complete the paintings. Isolated, while able to
survive on their own, they look lonely and shipwrecked, in need of their
collective whole.
The paintings are
influenced by a wide range of sources including the patterns of the Weiner
Werkstatte, 20th century French tapestry work, Aboriginal crop paintings,
the textiles of Swedish designer Joseph Frank, and perhaps most importantly,
the codifying work of the German biologist Ernst Haekel, whose real and
invented forms convey a universe of intrigue and imagination. The paintings
suggest an interest in invented forms, derived not so much from the rigorous
rules of geometry, but from a sense of necessity and fun. Conjured up in
their cellular structure is a view into a single cell or an entire universe,
the near, the far, the telescope, the microscope, a microcosm, a macrocosm.
Color plays an
important role in the work. Each piece is infused with brilliant jewel like
tones which serve to intensify the relationship of the forms. Each painting
contains its own family of forms very much linked to the concept that, like
snowflakes, no two will ever repeat themselves. The paintings conjure up a
self referential universe derived as much from nature and the organic, as
from pattern and design, and very much a journey from deep within the
artists eye.”
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