Color is to vision as words are to speech. Our eyes are vehicles through which we interpret the optical language of color. In my work I am searching for what color theorist Josef Albers described as the “magic of color.”
Color is the real subject of my work. My paintings are meant to be playful and experimental. My artistic decisions are rooted in color theory, drawing upon color’s interpretation and usage throughout history and from the doctrines of scholars such as Aristotle, Newton, Goethe, Munsell, Albers, and others. I contemplate both the writings of color theorists as well as the historical development of the color wheel. My paintings are experiments in color communication: how our eyes interpret the language of color to our brain and the resulting emotional reaction or intellectual response. They investigate how colors speak to each other (and the viewer) on a two-dimensional surface as well as how texture, movement, composition, and scale effect the way color is perceived.
Examining color through the lens of abstract painting presents both challenges and advantages in terms of viewer accessibility. My stylistic choices are secondary to my use of color as the subject and medium, but are also important in laying the groundwork for each piece. Stylistically, I am exploiting the "comfortable familiarity" of post-impressionism, abstract expressionism, and geometric abstraction. I am stylistically referencing these popular movements in an attempt to capitalize on their renowned effectiveness and to guide the viewer to a convenient point of entry. Allowing the eye to easily transition from reading the image as a whole to absorbing its details.
My paintings are meant to draw the viewer in and invite close looking. The "organized chaos" of my work is meant to reflect the structure of modern day life. Fast-paced and technology driven, our social construct is always changing but never slowing. Art is a constant in human history and as society evolves, so, too does art. Through the use of an all over painting technique, I am aiming to give the viewer cause to stop, and really absorb what's in front of them and provide an escape. An escape not necessarily from reality, or from what is in front of us, but from the buzzing world around us.
As in many styles of artistic expression, a single work of art can evoke different emotional or intellectual responses from each viewer. The same can be said of color. I believe that color can only be truly explored through abstraction, because color itself is an abstract notion. My fascination with color lies within the likelihood that no two sets of eyes will ever perceive one color in exactly the same way.
"And even
if that round red Coca Cola sign with the same white name in the middle
is actually shown so that everyone focuses on the same red,
each will receive the same projection on his retina,
Color is the real subject of my work. My paintings are meant to be playful and experimental. My artistic decisions are rooted in color theory, drawing upon color’s interpretation and usage throughout history and from the doctrines of scholars such as Aristotle, Newton, Goethe, Munsell, Albers, and others. I contemplate both the writings of color theorists as well as the historical development of the color wheel. My paintings are experiments in color communication: how our eyes interpret the language of color to our brain and the resulting emotional reaction or intellectual response. They investigate how colors speak to each other (and the viewer) on a two-dimensional surface as well as how texture, movement, composition, and scale effect the way color is perceived.
"And even
if that round red Coca Cola sign with the same white name in the middle
is actually shown so that everyone focuses on the same red,
each will receive the same projection on his retina,
but no one can be sure whether each has the same perception."
—Josef Albers, Interaction of Color, (1963)
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