Statements
I make anthropomorphic trees that resemble people; they are The paintings are created with acrylic on linen; the drawings
Metamorphosis: Entwined 2011 My new series of paintings, Entwined, is inspired by anthropomorphic trees I discovered in Central Park, in Brooklyn, and while traveling in China and Italy. Suffused with feelings of revelation and regeneration, the paintings are anchored in symbols of transformation in Roman poet Ovid’s work, The Metamorphoses. I have been drawing trees for ten years, while also working from live models. Gradually the human physique and tree limbs merged in my psyche, fusing human and tree anatomy into a hybrid essence. Trees become a refuge and a sanctuary as the forms reveal themselves as hollowed out, hallowed, haunted and inhabited. Dark monarchs and monsters, entwined Majestic couples, animals, and faces emerge in the poetic context of multiple, shifting identities. Understated elusive forms morph into penises, entrails, breasts and vaginas as the varied personas within us, and in our networks of relationships, are revealed to correspond to the mysterious affinities in the tree configurations. The unity of all life is accentuated. Transformation in nature mirrors the perpetual changes we as human beings undergo through our multiple roles and masks. Egyptian idols and artifacts inspired my determination to evoke a glimmer of the essence of ancient devotion by employing gold paint to suggest the inherent value, and significance of all things, whether they are manufactured or natural. The paint suggests the equivalent of sunlight by illuminating objects with a golden glow. Since the gold standard is the epitome of recognized worth, the message is that all material things have innate value. Cast-offs, and junk left for trash pick-up, often intrigue me. Gridded scraps of plastic that were formerly used to organize kitchen cabinets, add a ready-made structure to the sculptures. Nothing can be truly discarded; it can only be put in another context or environment. I combine objects from the street, whose forms attract me, with natural materials, that can be gathered easily, like leaves, pinecones, sticks and stones. I found enormous pinecones on the ground in Sequoia National Park. Each leaf in my ”pile” has been picked from a tree and hand-painted. Natural objects combined with manufactured items, generate energy that germinates unexpected fresh meaning. Several of the quasi-devotional sculptures can be viewed as shrines to venerate nature. I don’t carve objects; I paint them, sew them with thin wire, and construct forms with clearly delineated shapes. The lightweight wire mesh adds transparency, allowing the fragments inside the artworks to be viewed. Ultimately, the works are organic rather than systematically structured.
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