Black Cubes 2004
This abstract work presents a compelling dialogue between geometric order and material expression, echoing the visual languages of leading movements in modern and contemporary art. At the core of the painting lies a compositional grid structure. A defining symbol of Modernism, the grid traditionally represents rationality, systemic order, and fixed structure. This piece appropriates that very framework while simultaneously dismantling it.The black squares and rectangles are neither uniform nor precise. The intersecting contours—rendered in white, yellow, and rust-brown—are drawn freehand in a trembling, non-linear fashion, imbuing the grid with an organic, nearly human, or architecturally weathered quality. Traces of brushstrokes, scraping, or print-like textures leave luminous negative spaces exposed through the black, a technique reminiscent of Action Painting and Abstract Expressionism.This versatile work can be oriented both horizontally and vertically, and is executed in a diverse mix of media, including enamel, acrylics, and glass paint.
Jasmine Ronel
As I work, lines, marks, and forms coalesce and congeal; the next touch will undoubtedly cover and conceal part of these developments, yet never entirely. In certain areas, the underlying layers remain active, breathing and effervescing. The palpable materiality pushing from beneath exerts pressure, as the underpainting - or figures and fragments of imagery - persists within another stratum. The distinctions between the surfaces are technical, material, and conceptual. Frequently, the initial layers are constructed from 'easily digestible' materials - predominantly plastic-based - which slightly soil the canvas and establish an initial point of reference. Subsequently, following the drying process, the next layer rectifies (or destroys), engaging with areas through thought and the mind. At almost every stage, the painting 'proposes' a new point of departure: there is an observation of and response to the composition, and to the overarching concept of where things are heading. At times, the subject is negated; at others, it manages to 'hold its ground' and survives until the end. The materials in the later layers are already 'heavy,' imbued with self-importance and scent. These are far less forgiving, demanding their place upon the canvas. At this stage, the workflow is governed by the chemistry of the mediums and the internal flow pent up within them, which takes an independent and welcome direction. The concluding layer appears 'light and flat,' though opaque in most instances. Textures and directions may pass through it, but materiality and color cannot. Instead, these break through the 'wounds' - those ruptures that expose the convergence of flesh and skin within the painterly body. The conclusions derived from one work do not necessarily apply to the next. The subsequent piece often rebels against those very solutions, offering a different possibility that is seemingly antithetical to its predecessor. I find it difficult to place trust in a closed stylistic or painterly stance (be it a signature hand, subject, or language). For me, the act of painting is an adventurous and surprising journey that constructs and dismantles states, touching upon and crossing painterly territories that were once autonomous.
As I work, lines, marks, and forms coalesce and congeal; the next touch will undoubtedly cover and conceal part of these developments, yet never entirely. In certain areas, the underlying layers remain active, breathing and effervescing. The palpable materiality pushing from beneath exerts pressure, as the underpainting - or figures and fragments of imagery - persists within another stratum. The distinctions between the surfaces are technical, material, and conceptual. Frequently, the initial layers are constructed from 'easily digestible' materials - predominantly plastic-based - which slightly soil the canvas and establish an initial point of reference. Subsequently, following the drying process, the next layer rectifies (or destroys), engaging with areas through thought and the mind. At almost every stage, the painting 'proposes' a new point of departure: there is an observation of and response to the composition, and to the overarching concept of where things are heading. At times, the subject is negated; at others, it manages to 'hold its ground' and survives until the end. The materials in the later layers are already 'heavy,' imbued with self-importance and scent. These are far less forgiving, demanding their place upon the canvas. At this stage, the workflow is governed by the chemistry of the mediums and the internal flow pent up within them, which takes an independent and welcome direction. The concluding layer appears 'light and flat,' though opaque in most instances. Textures and directions may pass through it, but materiality and color cannot. Instead, these break through the 'wounds' - those ruptures that expose the convergence of flesh and skin within the painterly body. The conclusions derived from one work do not necessarily apply to the next. The subsequent piece often rebels against those very solutions, offering a different possibility that is seemingly antithetical to its predecessor. I find it difficult to place trust in a closed stylistic or painterly stance (be it a signature hand, subject, or language). For me, the act of painting is an adventurous and surprising journey that constructs and dismantles states, touching upon and crossing painterly territories that were once autonomous.
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