Artist Statement – Barely There
This body of work was inspired by a visit to Japan, a place where I found a wealth of visual surprises to fuel my long-time interest in transitory, indefinable imagery. It seemed as if around every corner, in every shop window, shrine or garden, subway station… everywhere… there was to be found an unexpected visual experience. There is, of course, the collision of traditional and pop cultures that produces a seemingly infinite fallout. There is the gracefulness in which ancient things seem to exist so easily in the contemporary world, and the way nature is intertwined with the man-made. The paintings in this series found their beginnings in Japan’s visual richness… a reflection in a pond or stepping-stones in the shadows of a garden, in the patterns of fabrics, the neon nightlife of Tokyo’s streets, or the elegant presentation of a formal Kaiseki dinner. To see Japan’s cherry blossoms in full bloom, floating like clouds below the clouds, is a truly overwhelming experience. Yet, these references are really just the starting point and it is how things develop beyond the initial inspiration that determines what the painting will become.
While I believe I have an affinity for Asian art, I will readily admit an almost complete ignorance of the subject. My experience with Asian art is of the most informal nature, simply that of an artist looking at art. However, I believe there has always been a hint of its influence in my work. In this series, I have considered Japanese imagery using my western painter’s vocabulary. I feel I have produced paintings that are elusive, meditative and restrained, while at the same time remaining quirky and spontaneous. Much of what I work with is just beyond my grasp. It is from this sense of disconnection, of being barely there, that this series gets its title. Memories that seem so vivid become fleeting the moment I try to put them to canvas. Images are stripped of their literalness so they can become free to evolve. In other words, when a painting is not about the cherry blossoms that inspired it, then it becomes successful.