Artist Statement

I use acrylic paint on wood panel, aluminum, plywood, and other surfaces to produce abstract paintings and constructions.

Non-representational art is my preferred way of getting closer to the bone in expressing the unseen and unsaid. My practice centers on a deep focus of color relationships and spacial dynamics.

To start, I gather small random sketches I’ve made of shapes that grab my attention and assemble them into a collage. Enlarging and transferring this onto the working surface results in a landscape of shapes moving freely across the background. I weave lines among and over these shapes, creating a livelier atmosphere and offering a wider range for color play. These additional elements engender the picture with a lot of its personality and dimensionality. Importantly, the lines are frequently no more than scribbles, familiar gestures meant to recall our common roots.

Once I have a pretty good idea of my composition, I can corral my thoughts about the color, which I typically consider then, and not earlier. It’s a dynamic and repetitive process, and I change my mind frequently. There are layers of color under my final choices, and I allow some of the history of my changes to come through on the surface.

Mimi Cahalan