My work is deeply personal, based on the visual imagery occasioned by the memories, nostalgia, and emotions of an eclectic and polyvalent life. This involved political activism, visits to over 60 countries, living in Canada, Iran, Singapore and the USA and running an international business.
Against that background, the intellectual, psychological and artistic challenge of creating work as a means of expressing my contextual essence and values informs my artistic oeuvre. Drawing on rich memories, the process of making work through colour, texture, mark making, spatial proportion, material selection and media choice is complex and evolutionary. Initial ideas become modified and refined into potential solutions to express my convictions. These include my concern about climate change, deforestation, resource depletion and pollution which I first confronted in the 1960’s when studying in Canada, with the publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”. Having seen the greed of multinational corporations and involved in oppositional politics, my beliefs have coalesced around the need for significant changes to our global construct, ideas that are reflected in my practice.
The concept and reality of “wildernesses” is important to me and informs my practice. Time spent in Antarctica, the Namibian desert, the Canadian tundra, for example, provides rich visual material to address the issues surrounding the disappearing natural wildernesses and man’s devastation of his environment as does the man- made urban wildernesses of Stalingrad, Ground Zero, Belfast and the “Rust Belt” each of which made indelible impressions. These memories suggest political wildernesses, one’s personal powerlessness, and the attendant philosophical and artistic void that has provided no response to global capitalism and its havoc.
The challenge is to navigate between the visual impact made by my paintings, especially the more abstract work, and the political messages that I intend accompany them. I risk leaving interpretation and understanding to the viewer, one that traverses between the didactic and the purely aesthetic.
My references include Kandinsky and his journey to abstraction, Diebenkorn. Keifer with his scale, political commentary and his variety of materials is inspirational as is Ghenie and his contemporary approach to old and new themes of oppression. Tuyman’s oeuvre and the seeming simplicity of his work provoke me deeply. In contrast are Richter’s complex processes touching many of my nerves. These artists address different types of wilderness in their unique way.
Using variety of grounds including canvas, jute, steel, granite and wood and collage with various materials; such as card, twigs, minerals, sand and granite, as well as oil paint, enhances my work and enables a presentation to the viewer that is appropriate to the subject. Most of my work is in oils and related media. I also use acids poured onto rusted steel and experiment with other ways of mark making. My application uses vigorous energy resulting in textured work, the effects of which create a visceral impact. Viewers are invited to question the nature and origin of the work, how it is made and relate to their own experiences.
Artist’s Statement
Against that background, the intellectual, psychological and artistic challenge of creating work as a means of expressing my contextual essence and values informs my artistic oeuvre. Drawing on rich memories, the process of making work through colour, texture, mark making, spatial proportion, material selection and media choice is complex and evolutionary. Initial ideas become modified and refined into potential solutions to express my convictions. These include my concern about climate change, deforestation, resource depletion and pollution which I first confronted in the 1960’s when studying in Canada, with the publication of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”. Having seen the greed of multinational corporations and involved in oppositional politics, my beliefs have coalesced around the need for significant changes to our global construct, ideas that are reflected in my practice.
The concept and reality of “wildernesses” is important to me and informs my practice. Time spent in Antarctica, the Namibian desert, the Canadian tundra, for example, provides rich visual material to address the issues surrounding the disappearing natural wildernesses and man’s devastation of his environment as does the man- made urban wildernesses of Stalingrad, Ground Zero, Belfast and the “Rust Belt” each of which made indelible impressions. These memories suggest political wildernesses, one’s personal powerlessness, and the attendant philosophical and artistic void that has provided no response to global capitalism and its havoc.
The challenge is to navigate between the visual impact made by my paintings, especially the more abstract work, and the political messages that I intend accompany them. I risk leaving interpretation and understanding to the viewer, one that traverses between the didactic and the purely aesthetic.
My references include Kandinsky and his journey to abstraction, Diebenkorn. Keifer with his scale, political commentary and his variety of materials is inspirational as is Ghenie and his contemporary approach to old and new themes of oppression. Tuyman’s oeuvre and the seeming simplicity of his work provoke me deeply. In contrast are Richter’s complex processes touching many of my nerves. These artists address different types of wilderness in their unique way.
Using variety of grounds including canvas, jute, steel, granite and wood and collage with various materials; such as card, twigs, minerals, sand and granite, as well as oil paint, enhances my work and enables a presentation to the viewer that is appropriate to the subject. Most of my work is in oils and related media. I also use acids poured onto rusted steel and experiment with other ways of mark making. My application uses vigorous energy resulting in textured work, the effects of which create a visceral impact. Viewers are invited to question the nature and origin of the work, how it is made and relate to their own experiences.