ARTIST STATEMENT
My paintings are abstract; however, they often contain forms which suggest animated figures. I paint in oil and several years ago I began to incorporate bits of fabric—linen, silk, cheesecloth—into my paintings; I now use mostly cheesecloth because its loose weave makes it a wonderful drawing medium to create interesting, fluid forms. These forms emerge in the process of manipulating fabric and paint—a process that is both exploratory and playful.
I explore aspects of movement and emotion, particularly with figures moving in and on the edges of space: figures are in flight or on the verge of flight, some leaping freely into or through space, others on the brink of taking off, hovering precariously on the edge of some vast open space that is both inviting and terrifying, full of possibility and risk.
Figures often seem to be caught at particular, unsettled moments which suggest possible relationships and narratives; the relationship between the figures and the spaces they inhabit is open to multiple interpretations: tension, excitement, fear, anxiety, exuberance, exhilaration, freedom and play.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Joan McLane is an Evanston-based abstract painter, working primarily in oil with fabric elements (linen, silk, cheesecloth) worked into the paint.
© Joan McLane