Yolanda Fernandez-Shebeko

Objects in Space
acrylic on linen
48 x 36 in.

My painting follows the very bright path begun in the 1950’s with the wonderful work forged by the abstract expressionist painters in New York. Freeing perception into color, composition, and inspiration on its own and for its own has brought into existence, for me, the most important art and the most important and deepest response to art.

My own work is inspired by the great Milton Resnik, Joan Mitchell, and Agnes Martin. Although each of them produced very different work throughout their careers, and Mr. Resnick thought the term ‘Abstract Expressionist’ odd and basically incorrect, their accomplishments all stand on the same mountain. Milton Resnick insisted that the only direction and space in painting that there could be was ‘to ascend’.
In my own life, I am very happy to have the time and heart to continue this painted conversation. Milton Resnick insisted that when the paint became the master and the artist the servant, the painting put you together, creating a unity, you did not put together the painting.

All of my paintings begin by letting the paint start its own visual language. I prepare the colors to a specific density and viscosity and let them show me a path into what will become both subject and the perception of the resulting work. The hues stand alone and also blend optically to create the work. The finished paintings find a relevant response in viewers derived from a vision located in the natural outside world, and an inner, inspired moment or memory brought to mind by pure pattern and color. The time spent in contemplating the work allows the viewer time to put themselves together in a mode of reflection, and perhaps, clarity.