ARTIST STATEMENT
For decades I’ve been creating “Peoplescapes, oil, sculptured characters and applied objects on canvas, addressing cultural, political and spiritual issues facing society. By juxta-posing people in recognizable places and situations, each painting weaves together a story about contemporary life, filled with layers of detail, symbolism and humor.
“3d Abstracts – Plane slashing is the latest progression of my 3D technique building up the canvas; lately I’m tearing, cutting and manipulating the plane of an existing painting, while integrating it with one or more finished canvases, then adding sculpture and found objects to create a new and cohesive piece.
As this work evolves, the experience is liberating, moving from chaos to destruction and on to an intuitive composition somewhere between abstraction and surrealism. Everyday, I take the brush to canvas and, although I am confronted with fear and insecurity, I also tap into a limitless source of imagery. In those moments, time falls away and it seems that the work creates itself.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
WHO: Born in Bronx, New York, I attended the College of New Rochelle at age 15 to study painting and sculpture, after completing Bronx HS of Science. I am a certified computer animator, and singer-songwriter. I continue to create new work and regularly exhibit in solo and group shows. I’ve also lived in Europe and Thailand, and traveled throughout the U.S., Mexico, Central America, Southeast Asia, India and Nepal while painting in plein air, which has served the development of my painting style and sharpen my understanding of the cultural and spiritual diversity of the world landscape. I have come to realize that art is truly a universal language.
© Nancy Calef