Intimacy of Forms Series Artist Statement
Bend Away, 36 x 24 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Divisible, 26 x 50 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Meandering Line in Blue, 30 x 20 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Break of Day, 28 x 44 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Yellow Attends, 36 x 56 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Causing, 22 x 28 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Orange Casting, 22 x 28 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Unyielding, 20 x 36 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Shifting, 20 x 36 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Loneside, 28 x 48 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
Settling, 48 x 30 inches, oil and graphite on panel, 2009
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Intimacy of Forms
The foundation of my work is to extract the intangible, emotional moments that live in our collective human mind and heart, and interpret them so that they may also exist outside of ourselves. To interpret these psychological and emotional states, I use essential elements – forms, lines, colors, compositions – and draw from my experiences in the world and from within myself. Through this, I hope to convey an experience of what it is to be human.
The immediate inspiration for this group of pieces stems from the time I spent in East Berlin, Germany, during the summer of 2008. Immersed in a city still in the midst of reconstruction, I found myself gripped by the lingering affects of the suffering that was imposed upon East Berliners during the era of the Wall and I became acutely aware of the awesome power of human resilience; reflection and meditation on this strength is what fuels this body of work.
All the lines, forms and intersections found in my paintings reflect a language governed by relationships: the form by itself is just a form, but by introducing another form, line or mark, a profound relationship is established between these elements. It is this relationship, the intimacy of these forms, that creates a complexity that mirrors the intricacy of our minds, our hearts, and our struggles – the ineffable things that are our essence.
© Copyright Rose Umerlik 2005 - 2023.