Durden and Ray Fellows are respected former members of our collective who continue to be affiliated with us, and work to keep our collective strong.
Viewing art is an act of contemplative discovery. For me, it feels like being an explorer or treasure hunter, except the riches lie in unexpected meaning and beautiful form. My paintings invite viewers to spend time with them- to move about, look closely, and become active visual explores themselves.
These paintings are made entirely with white paint, but they come alive with light as it refracts over the varying matte and iridescent surfaces. As one moves in front of them, or sunlight changes the lighting in the room, the paintings vacillate between abstraction and representation, revealing scenes of liquid transformation: great waves, storms clouds, avalanches, and volcanic flows. The imagery is grand and sometimes tumultuous, but the luminescence, softly painted edges, and transient iridescence has a serene quality as well.
I am fascinated by the history of white-on-white paintings and love how white light is made from all the colors of the spectrum. It is everything and nothing all at once. I make these paintings by airbrushing white paint on a textured, silvery background. To see them in their entirety takes time. Day or night, these paintings always have something to be discovered. In raking sunlight they can feel bright and shimmering and at night they may take on a warm glow from incandescent lights. Their mood is always changing, inviting reinvestigation, discovery, and comfort with change.
My work is a non-linear narrative that focuses on the experiences of womanhood through paint, material, and sculpture. The conversation between these formal elements creates an abstract space integrating domestic structures, psychological atmosphere, and theatricality. The resulting landscape hovers between claustrophobic destruction and vast meditative expanses representing the influence of societal pressures on the psyche. Although disparate the two occasionally unite as architectural rubble and found objects are lovingly interwoven in a healing gesture. In this hybrid space characters are permitted to unabashedly act out inner fears or desires associated with the home, career, and motherhood. The paintings become facilitators for navigating the frail equilibrium of inner monologue and outer influence.
2016, Acrylic, tempera, collage, organza, and found objects
2016, Acrylic, collage, matches, and a nail on canvas
2014, Acrylic and collage on canvas
2015, Acrylic, collage, wire, organza and copper on canvas
2016, Acrylic, collage, baby blanket, crochet, tulle, and bed sheet