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Statement |
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The work, which references painting, drawing, and sculpture, draws upon a variety of materials, ideas, and inspiration. In my travels to southeast asia, I located an industrial mesh that has dominated my work for several years. The commercial mesh, packed in rolls in room-sized containers is shipped in commercial vessels worldwide. Fascinated by this material, I visited the factory in Shanghai, and brought the materials back to my studio where I could experiment, explore and expand its possiblities. Challenged by the idea of using ordinary, easily accessible commercial materials, I am always researching and using related materials for my work. Around the globe, these materials have been used in the grocery, construction and decorative industries and because they are often made from plastic, have been easily discarded. Rather than sitting in oceans and waste stockpiles, I have repurposed and transformed these materials into art pieces that will long endure in homes, and on display in other public places. Many of the works draw inspiration from my abstract drawings with ideas stemming from my imagination about space and time. The drawings, created on transparent paper, plastic or mesh, are sometimes embellished with other materials which act as paintbrush to describe a world of movement, in two dimensional space. Concepts of virtual space, space around objects and outer space, all capture my thoughts as I attempt to visually create what we cannot see. Light, space and multiple dimensions form the undercurrent of my thought process as well as the transitory, fragile nature of life. Color plays an integral role in enhancing the atmospheric transparency of the materials. The work, sharing forms of painting, sculpture and installation leads the viewer to take an intimate look at seemingly ordinary materials that because of what has been done to them, transcends their function. Cathy Breslaw
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