Painted Games

 

I have always felt limited by the traditional rectangular shape of paintings. To solve this problem, I create shaped panels for my paintings that borrow from the elegant and surprising forms of Chinese design. This simple but rich visual language –found in Chinese architecture, furniture, and metalwork (much of which surrounded me as a child) connects straight lines to semicircles and gentle curves. Its principles serve as guides in my creative process, enriching my artistic vocabulary and adding layers of cultural significance to my paintings.

 

Working with these shaped panels I have discovered visual opportunities that have led me to develop a second series of paintings inspired by vintage “dexterity toys.” Dexterity toys are tiny glass-covered boxes that contain ball bearings meant to be maneuvered through a maze or puzzle printed on a cardboard image.

 

My painted “Games” are my own inventions. They seem to have rules, but the rules are unknown. Often a painted ball seems to hover in front of the painting, and the viewer feels compelled to push it into a receptacle. Of course, as is the case with the ball bearings behind the glass of the original dexterity toys, paintings cannot be touched. They can only be moved in the viewer’s mind. 

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Recently these painted “Games” have evolved into geometric abstractions – paintings that refer to artists like Josef Albers and Bridget Riley. Where historical geometric abstraction avoided the use of shadow, however, I embrace it as a compositional tool, using light and shape to make intensely convincing three-dimensional illusion. My vision for the next series of 'Games' is to paint them at human scale or larger, making them intrude visually into the viewer’s surroundings.

 

I aim to alter the viewer’s perception, to create a sense of disorientation and awe. I aim to evoke a powerful, unforgettable, and deeply personal engagement with the artwork.