Creative Destruction, Garage Gallery, Beacon, NY

 

The Incarnation series came about as I searched for an alternate way to create abstract marks and forms. Afghans, with their individual histories, handmade by caring strangers, landed in thrift stores I peruse. I use them as printing tools to create grid-like patterns and gestural traces. The afghans become worn and discolored over time. This destructive aspect of making is an unconscious response to anxiety experienced in my personal life as well as the pain I see in the world at large. Creating is a chance to rebuild, to make anew. Performance is at play as I walk on and stretch my body over the afghans and canvas, building layers and allowing the personal to merge with the formal.

 

I often look at these completed pieces and wonder how they came to be. It’s as though they simply appeared on their own, a kind of gestalt.