Artist's Statement

I propose to achieve artistic excellence and relevance by exploring ancient runes, pictographs and oriental calligraphy by incorporating them into my abstract painting.

 

Furthermore, I propose to carry on with my constant search to complete works that by title, execution, imbedded images, and abstract artistic praxis point to a topic of significance and relevance in modern artistic dialogue.

 

Ideally, the result will both reinterpret the ancient and revive the modern, making a more primal, universal, and intuitive medium of communication that retains meaning and enriches past and present traditions. The result will represent my vision of bringing Eastern and Western art together.

 

To accomplish these goals, I am presently executing a series of acrylic paintings that imply and evoke common aspects of society and social interaction. I depict feminine and masculine principals that give shape to societies and explore the archetypes and archetypal images of social roles and social ceremonies, My work highlights the common threads of our being and points out the uncommon, unusual, beautiful and ugly weaves in our social fabrics.

 

My artistic practise leading up to the present draws from the many prominent intellectual and cultural traditions that run through modern art. I am inspired, among others, by the old Italian and Russian masters, Bosch, the impressionists, Chagall, Klee, and German expressionism, especially Nolde. Of the 20th century Hungarians Csontvary and Gulacsy, of my contemporaries Kelemen, and Roma artists Peli and Szentandrassy come to mind.

 

Having lived in Canada since 1984 I find a spiritual connection to the best of Canadian and American art. Before I ever heard about the travelling show of Carr, Khalo, and O’Keeffe, my artist statement in my previous catalogue published in 2001 invited their spirits to keep me artistic company. I wish to continue an artistic dialogue with masters and mistresses of art.

 

Having lived on the West Coast, in the Pacific Rim, Japanese and Chinese art have become new major influences, in addition to West Coast Indigenous art.

 

I attempt to capture the life energy. I call my paintings energy portraits of ideas, feelings and events. I have been developing a form of abstract, intuitive painting that uses a special form of calligraphy over washes of bold colours. Whether it is brush-work or drawing or, lately, etching that is used to complete my pieces, I am confident that I am doing original work.