Layers and Planes 6- Susan Chorpenning

Paint, Wood
25.5" x 11.75" x 1.5"
 
My past work has included installations focused on light: daylight, light and shadow, and lights at night. This is now translated into pieces with flat surfaces, working with light in different ways. I have used reflective surfaces, such as graphite or metallic oil stick, but in these most recent works, I am using surfaces with particular qualities, each reflecting light differently. Interference paint changes tone as the viewer changes viewing position. Gold leaf has a warm glow. Micaceous iron oxide contains tiny particles which glitter. Some paint can softly absorb light, while other paint is highly reflective.

In juxtaposing these surfaces, I appeal to our human sensibilities, the equivalent of touch, but from a visual sense. When we see an identifiable image, it evokes thoughts and associations. By making these works abstract, I am appealing to our ability to look purely, to respond only to the sensation of seeing, to stay in the realm of visual sensation, delight and wonder.