ARTIST STATEMENT
It was a cool September day as I got in my seat for my first ever plane ride with my mom and two sisters. My mother nervously fidgeted, clutching her purse tightly since it held $5000, all the money she owned. As the plane was about to take off, she looked over at us and said with a nervous smile, “When one door closes, another door opens.” I would later realize exactly what she had meant by that statement and I would come to fully appreciate the tenacity and strength it took for her to find that next door.
Our lives had been upended the previous week. My father, a minister, had abandoned us, and my mother had made the tough decision to leave Puerto Rico, the only home we had ever known. A family friend living in El Dorado, Arkansas offered to take us in until a teaching job became available for my mom. Feeling anxious and uncertain, I held my small paperback Spanish to English/ English to Spanish dictionary tightly in my lap on the plane. Looking back, that little paperback became an invaluable bridge in my new hometown - opening many doors and giving me a means to communicate, connect, and build relationships.
As an artist, I am like that little translational dictionary. My work connects my past with my present, gives me a visual voice, and allows the viewer to experience courage and vulnerability as I share my perception of places, people, and my human experience.
In many of my works, I utilize layers to explore issues of spirituality, identity, and human connection. Some pieces have as its base layer printed words that have been lifted from the Bible or other sources that are personally meaningful. In some of the paintings, the printed layers are clearly visible, and in others, they are obscured; in this way, I delve into the meaningful selectivity we use in deciding which layers of our personal stories we will share with others and which we will withhold. As always, color is a technique, a tool, and a language I use to emphasize an overall mood. Abstracting the subject matter, manipulating shapes, and incorporating texture that evokes an emotional response unify these paintings, however diverse. At first glance, it may be these elements that capture the viewer’s eye, but with closer observation, the words arise from the background and therein the deepest layer of each piece, both literally and symbolically, is revealed.
Our lives had been upended the previous week. My father, a minister, had abandoned us, and my mother had made the tough decision to leave Puerto Rico, the only home we had ever known. A family friend living in El Dorado, Arkansas offered to take us in until a teaching job became available for my mom. Feeling anxious and uncertain, I held my small paperback Spanish to English/ English to Spanish dictionary tightly in my lap on the plane. Looking back, that little paperback became an invaluable bridge in my new hometown - opening many doors and giving me a means to communicate, connect, and build relationships.
As an artist, I am like that little translational dictionary. My work connects my past with my present, gives me a visual voice, and allows the viewer to experience courage and vulnerability as I share my perception of places, people, and my human experience.
In many of my works, I utilize layers to explore issues of spirituality, identity, and human connection. Some pieces have as its base layer printed words that have been lifted from the Bible or other sources that are personally meaningful. In some of the paintings, the printed layers are clearly visible, and in others, they are obscured; in this way, I delve into the meaningful selectivity we use in deciding which layers of our personal stories we will share with others and which we will withhold. As always, color is a technique, a tool, and a language I use to emphasize an overall mood. Abstracting the subject matter, manipulating shapes, and incorporating texture that evokes an emotional response unify these paintings, however diverse. At first glance, it may be these elements that capture the viewer’s eye, but with closer observation, the words arise from the background and therein the deepest layer of each piece, both literally and symbolically, is revealed.
Photos: Bryan Clifton www.bcliftonphoto.com