Sanctuary Series
Here we are a year later. After an excruciating year of social distancing and arguing as a country whether we should wear masks or not, the vaccines are now here, and things are looking up for some parts of the country even as other areas are rejecting science and the vaccine. As a result, after a complete break with the ordinary lives we once had, we are embarking on yet another adjustment. How do we live with Covid in our midst and also go back to seeing our friends in person while also feeling safe? Along with these adjustments, my art has also taken another shift.
I have always wanted to do a series of paintings based completely on geometry. Once again my training in architecture has entered into my thought process. Whereas chance was a large part of my previous process, now I want to investigate the nature of the simple geometric system. My choices have been reduced to a minimum, like choosing 4 colors, the number allowed by the system. I created the system, but then the system drives the painting. While I am actually still seeing these paintings as landscapes, albeit reduced to a simple geometry, they are also self-referential, a process of looking inward. The process of painting these freehand geometries requires intense concentration. They are painted by hand, no taping. I don't necessarily like to say they are a meditation, but this way of painting does require single-pointed concentration, obscuring or eliminating other distractions. They are a respite so to speak from the constancy of everyday decision making.
