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DRIVEN TO ABSTRACTION |
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Driven to Abstraction
Mixed Media Paintings on Paper by Leif Hultberg
Using color and texture, painting starts with bringing together random and chaotic elements. While 'pushing paint' the initial qualities of what first appear as haphazard rudiments begin to take shape and form by their very nature.
There is an inclination for underlying geometric formations, the primary building blocks of matter, to pervade the painting as they do everything else. This is quite natural, as the very structure and use of a drawn line, lends itself to creating these ubiquitous shapes.
The fundamental geometry that is intrinsic to the order of our universe is so sacred and pleasing to the senses that it is a challenge and almost an act of defiance to obviate the appearance of these all too easily recognizable forms within an abstract expression.
To do so is provocative. It is exciting and awakens the shadow. Its unruliness questions providence and brings into the equation free will, along with all its accompanying potential for chaos and uncertainty. This act embraces change, defies the status quo, and allows for, and even demands that different possibilities emerge. As such, it becomes a powerful vehicle for expansive awareness; leading toward greater possibilities and comprehension, or in some cases, sheer madness.
Order and chaos interplay upon the paper. The interaction of these seemingly opposite realities is an active and moving experience. Moods and emotions brought forth during the unfolding process are viscerally expressed within the work and it becomes a visual map that records the journey - an interactive map that has the capacity to convey to others a unique and distinctive experience.
The impetuous that inspires creative expression can be sudden and energetic. During these spontaneous moments the work precedes quite fast, an instinctive flow without much thought as to what goes where or why. Acrylic paint, color pencils and the oil pastels lend themselves quite well to this rapid momentum, while the thirsty paper is the ideal receptacle for this combination of mixed media. And of course, water the primal solvent, breaks down the color/texture agents, alchemically blending them to the paper as the glue that eventually binds the whole work together. During this stage the picture is continually rotated, as every direction vies for attention. The finished paintings can often hang either vertically or horizontally, each offering a distinct visual expression.
As the layers of media are built up upon the surface a tension is evoked between feelings and thoughts, heart and the mind, possiblities or positionalities and the work becomes a metaphoric vehicle for this dynamic. The desire to explore, experiment and to seek out new adventure, comes up against an enduring propensity for a sense of balance and continuity, wherein lies a more easily recognizable haven for safety and comfort. At this point the quizzical mind becomes more engaged as if attempting to disentangle a puzzle and the process slows down as the work begins to resolve itself, taking a more unambiguous direction.
The painting having been birthed, now has a life of its own and calls out for particular ways of expression; at times amassing more structure and stability and other times seeking freedom from restraint - even demanding drastic changes. The friction of these dynamics fires up the imagination and ultimately fuels a fusion of once disparate elements that may have first appeared unlikely or even impossible to join together. The distillation process is continually being cultivated and refined. The experience of producing a work of art, being one personal to the artist, has already achieved its primary purpose during the creative act. As to whether the tangible results are as successful to another?
This is in the eye of the beholder...
Enjoy!
© 2003 LH
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