Fugue Series
I like the idea that a painting can speak musically through a crafting of shape , color , line , surface , and space . I ’ m acutely aware of how these elements repeat and vary through the structure , creating emphasis , and shifting foci , syncopation and rhythm , visual harmony and contrast . At the same time , I ’ m every bit as interested in the cleansing role of emptiness — the pause , the silence , the waiting , the sense of expectation .
Mathematicians have suggested that certain pieces of music contain rhythmic sequences that very much echo patterns found in nature , the sounds of which speak to us as true , beautiful , and life-affirming . I ' m looking for a visual parallel in art , where content is expressed , at least in part , by the way visual elements enter a dance of rhythmic variation , syncopation , harmony , and opposition .
My Fugue groups , in particular , draw upon a compositional structure in music where multiple voices are introduced , build on a theme , and recur with variation through the piece . Elsewhere , compositions by Bach , Beethoven , Chopin , and Steve Reich have impacted the mark-making , color structures , surface treatment , and panel arrangements of the paintings .
I want to produce work that in some way fuses the geometry and structures of the modern and contemporary world with an ancient , almost mystical painting technique . The logic of geometric forms is in some way countered , tempered , or challenged by the sensuality of the wax medium and the organic fusion of color and light .
Fugue II , ( details ), encaustic on 50 panels , 56 x 140 inches , 2012