DocSusan cares and shares with special updates

Name:

Email address:

 

Toronto Art Expo, March 6-9, 2008, Metro Toronto Convention Centre is in its sixth year, and Canada's largest indoor art exhibition dedicated exclusively to the work of contemporary fine artists. Its juried process encourages the participation of a wide range of Canadian and international artists, as well as selective art connoisseurs and business professionals, from all over North America and Europe.

This exhibition gives me an opportunity to showcase a personal brand of abstraction—an evolution from "doodlemania" to "organic art." My original doodles, on reflection, might be seen to be unidimensional and contrived. I work on a specific piece, drawing then coloring, until it is finished. My evolved organic approach challenges rigidity, taking me me out of a comfort zone. It also offers a surprises (and magical moments). I tend to develop a number of pieces simultaneously, in multiple layers and following no particular plan (limiting control and deliberateness). The art is alive—a dynamic organism leading the way.

At Art Expo, I hope to appeal to a range of tastes, budgets, and ages. This gallery reveals larger pieces from the exhibit. It also explains ideas, messages, and processes behind them. Paintings are included in order of creation: "Similar, But Different," "Loving," and "Passion." Combination pieces, like "Similar But Different" and "Loving," bring several canvases together as one. The Small Works gallery shows other (smaller) works to be exhibited at The Artist Project as well as at Art Expo. They alongside some 08 Abstracts.

On reflection, I realize that my sketchbook explorations—prior to, during, and after the Biennale—greatly influenced the Art Expo collection. Also, each painting leads into the next. "Similar But Different" embodies many of the shapes, colors, and brush strokes of the Florence Biennale collection, "Buon Appetito!" (maybe because it was created simultaneously). However, it has an abstract rather than representational mandate.

After so much intense concentration with the Biennale's representational (food) images, my urge to loosen up and see what could emerge spontaneously was strong. Some of the brush strokes and characters that appeared in "Similar but Different" are also visible in "Loving." In "Loving," they're under the microscope. We get a closer look at what might and might not be—where energy can be put out (even if not reciprocated). It also marks a turning-point in my abstract repertoire—a side-hop from "doodlemania" to "organic art." "Loving" precedes "Passion" —and passion may come from loving. It also may come from not loving—not having sufficient opportunity to do so (to love or be loved). "Passion" demonstrates a divergence from my regular process. Paintings don't usually pop up for me in the way that this one did. They have a more belabored incubation and birthing process. It's been refreshing to work spontaneously, just going with whatever has emerged spontaneously, rapidly or in less rapid ways.

 

SIGNATURE PIECES EXPLAINED

"Similar But Different"
3 x (48 x 36 in.), oil on canvas, 2007

In "Similar But Different," the art therapist in me enjoyed intervening and discovering, as well as giving permission to play with the paint, exactitude not necessary. If and when a detail emerged that attracted my attention, I embellished it, allowing other aspects to evolve organically. I worked on each canvas from all directions and angles. And, it was only once pieces were complete that the final orientation for their hanging was determined (which can still be changed). Since I am considered to be a "colorist," I enjoyed making the most of this label. My only contrivance was that the first layer of paint on each canvas start with a different primary color (red, yellow, blue), as backdrop. In the foreground, anything was possible, allowing magic to happen.

These pieces can represent whatever the viewer chooses them to, and are better seen together (as a whole) than separately. They are as mysterious and exciting as they are soothing—perhaps because of their iridescent qualities (which may, or may not, be evident in photographs). Each piece has a story with characters in it, and details can be joined together or considered separately. There's also a lesson: it's about "similar but different." Each piece went through the same production phases, but distinct backgrounds combined with the artist's mood, from day to day, led to varying outcomes. Color and form can be personal preference-driven, making certain juxtapositions and compositions appear more appealing than others (depending on who viewers are and their vantage points).

"Loving"
9 x (18 x 18 in.), oil on canvas, 2008

To be able to love and be loved is essential to human survival (and quality of life) that we can love and be loved. However, many of us don't have opportunities to find the love that we long for, or don't feel loved in the right way by the right other(s) at the right times. That acknowledged, longings still churn. What do we do with them? One option is to transfer them to canvas (sublimate). The title for this nine-piece series didn't come to me right away. Just like for "Passion" (which was to follow), once I was mid-way, I started to realize what I was creating—as well as why and how. The more I got into what I was representing, the more affected I became by the imagery being revealed (or channeled). Each time I walked into my studio and saw it, I felt a lift (and gift). Love was out there on the canvas, transmitting full-force—love that can be so elusive in real life. Creating "happy art," I realized, as I have done before, keeps me going in ways little else manages to (consistently and unconditionally). It helps turn up the volume (and mood) when essential. What needs immediate attention is identified and underscored in paint—like how important it is to take proper care of oneself, no matter what.

"Passion"
60 x 40 in., oil on canvas, 2008

Passion, unfortunately, has to be held in check too often. Art-making can provide a release for it (of sorts), if we are lucky. This image emerged on its own, and at a time when I was particularly sensitive to the subject matter depicted. Inevitably, refinements to this painting took me on a personal odyssey. On closer inspection, many viewers might identify with aspects of it, even if not consciously. Certain details don't need to be discussed, interpreted, questioned, or dissected. They just are. The colors, shapes, dimensions, and juxtapositions included, emerged as they were supposed to. I just went with what came out—little need for embellishment or denial. Some viewers will see the completed picture a I do. Others might see something else.

 

 

©Susan R. Makin, 2008