I am very excited to have my work on exhibit at Mason Fine Art Gallery next month, in such a spectacular space, and among such a brilliant group, of varied, and talented artists.
My exhibit is the culmination of writing and painting over the past 8-9 months, while in isolation. Some works are keyed off a particular poem by Seamus Heaney, the Irish Nobel Prize Poet, and his poem ‘Sloe Gin”. I created several paintings inspired by his poem, exploring various conceptual aspects of the poem and the interpretation of the poem in abstract painting.
The Sloe Gin series itself was a starting point that ignited my interest in writing poetry this year. and I honestly believe, it is a result of self-isolation midst COVID 19. Previously, I never had the time or indeed stillness to consider the process of expression through poetic form. In my discovery, I experienced an overlap in the conceptual development of a poem and that of the expressive process of painting, in what I called, “Seamless Expression” and the title of one of my poems. I became interested in the subconscious development and evolution of ideas, and concepts, and the manifestation of ideas through the contours of memory. I also began to understand the importance of memory, and deep memory, as a coping mechanism in isolation and uncertainty. I found myself often painting while developing a poem and wanted to explore writing as a form of mark-making as an integral part of a painting. They seemed to go hand-in-hand in the unearthing of ideas. Each form of expression feeds the other in a seamless process.
“Narrative and mark-making embrace, cursive forms
In mixed fuse, stratified pliable layers, combine-
Corpus informed.”
I look forward to sharing my work, and many thanks to Mark Mason, and all at Mason Fine Art Gallery for the opportunity to share my work. Please stop by and see in person. The gallery is 21,000 sq.ft. and CDC guidelines are strictly observed.
