Artist Statement | Email

Mercuree, 32 x 32 in., oil on linen, 2003

Two Blues, 24 x 24 in., oil on linen, 2003

Blue Tango, 24 x 24 in., oil on linen, 2005

Drawing precedes painting in my work. Since 1998 I have been using compasses to choreograph a network of circular forms, originally based on a sine wave or “s” curve. These play with my interest in centrifugal/centripetal forces, in edges that set up tension as well as flow. Symmetry and other sets at times reference echo, reflection and establish pattern. As forms expand and contract, interconnect and vie for dominance, the drawing serves as an extension of my breath, setting up a kind of dance that pulsates across the surface. Circles remain or morph into other shapes until an overall web of “bubble slices” exists.

In the paintings, these forms serve as vessels for color. The painted surface is precise and uninflected allowing spatial interaction to reveal itself simply and clearly, establishing a balance between surface tension and movement. I am compelled by the discreet relationships that emerge from the interplay of color and form, in a tense field where subject and ground continually alternate. I want the images to act as suspended, yet connected slices of light, breathing, tense and emergent.

E-mail: Julie Gross [Email address: jag724 #AT# earthlink.net - replace #AT# with @ ]