Axis Contemporary Art Gallery
March 2008
There are three components to this exhibit, beyond the subject matter.
The first is the most obvious – that beauty nourishes us beyond our physical selves and that we can find that beauty all around us, which is an old yet consistently – and I think increasingly – important idea. Beauty is always there for us – and maybe we forget to look because beauty is so common.
The second component is the recognition of the importance of photography in my work. I’ve been using a digital camera for the last 5 years or so as part of my process and am totally unapologetic. It’s like I’ve added a new dimension to the way my mind works as I create.
The white frames on the flower paintings reference the old fashioned snapshot. And the dawn paintings are named by the time recorded on the camera when the images were taken.
The third component of the show concerns the effect that a long term intimate relationship can have on the creative process. I could not do my work without the constant kindness and helpfulness of my husband, Luke Lukasewich. Every aspect of the work benefits.
It was he who talked me into using a camera in the first place. And it is his photograghs that I have used in this show as reference for both the Flower paintings and the Dawn series. Every flower was grown in our house or our yard. And the Dawns were recorded by him on his way to his studio in the country. We are both appreciative of the different quality the images take rendered with paint and an enlarged scale.
When I read over this statement what strikes me most is that – while everything I’ve written is true – the writing of it feels to me that this was all somehow thought out and sequential – which is not the case at all. The beauty, the process, the relationship – all the relationships – all happen as a day to day normal living thing. And that makes me think that what this exhibit is really about is the appreciation of that. Beauty, art, and life all together – everywhere I look.
Omnivore: Beauty as Food was shown at Axis Contemporary Art from March 27 to April 7, 2008.
Many thanks to Rob Mabee.