Heather Brammeier

Pinwheels
oil on canvas
54 x 36 in.

My paintings focus on interlocking shapes and the resulting equivocation between figure and ground. When I design, the contours of each shape seem to creep like the frond of a fern unfolding. The forms in my paintings must float gracefully as though they are a sea-creature’s appendages wafting through water. Each form has a fluid movement that is ponderous rather than gestural.

Behind the interlocking shapes in my paintings is a desire for fullness and completeness. In my everyday life, I have an affinity for objects that are rounded and full, and that seem difficult to break. A new plant tendril sprouting from the earth is actually quite delicate, but the form itself could not be fuller, and the air around the perfect form cradles it with a sympathetic shape, making it feel unbreakable. It is only through painting and drawing that I feel close to achieving that same unbreakable quality.

© Heather Brammeier