Following is the Artist Statement for my solo exhibition at the Mill Valley Community Center for the month of June 2019.
This Mill Valley Community Center exhibit of my ongoing work exploring Abstract Landscapes presents the interplay between pushing abstraction and then reducing it with the goal of achieving an ultimately balanced work. Abstraction is manifested through various techniques such as the use of color, brush strokes, shapes, harmony, contrast and neutrals. These techniques are intentionally used to break the boundaries of realism. In landscapes, realism may provide an important compositional element, but it can also dominate and interfere with the goal of abstraction. The works in “Breaking Through” are the culmination of a process of experimentation with pushing beyond what might be visually pleasing or harmonious and then subtracting the excessively bold elements to ultimately create the finished work.