L.OCONNOR

My recent work fits within the genre of still life and is completed via observational study.  I have chosen this course of traditional work because of the art philosophy I encountered this summer, landscape painting in Italy; the essence of a good painting is found in its painterly qualities as opposed to a picturesque quality. For many of the artists with which I worked, the subject matter was not important, but rather, the formal characteristics that elicited an aesthetic emotional response, a concept described by Clive Bell in his book Art, published in 1914. Through being exposed to this theory, I realized the importance of color to defining light and space. Thus, still life painting became the basis for the continuation of my explorations of light, space and color.

 

Though my work and methods are steeped in tradition, my subject matter begins to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary art. Rather than using standard still life objects, I have constructed “figures” out of discarded, recyclable materials. These small, quirky, DIY sculptures serve as meaningless subject matter through which I look for painterly moments that provide myself with a series of aesthetic problems and the viewer with an understanding of space and light but also a better grasp of the character of these strange “figures.” I often refer to my sculptures as “figures,” because when I am creating, arranging and painting them they each take on individual figurative, gestural qualities. When approaching a painting of a single sculpture, it is approached as a portrait; when two or more sculptures are placed together, the gestural qualities are enhanced and the interaction present creates energy and tension as with two living beings.