Roy VAn Der AA

          I have been working with contrasting geometric shapes on a grid with organic or other overpainting since late 2009. Some pieces use a resist technique similar to batik, creating marks out of the backgrounds surrounded by contrasting color created by over-painting.

           In January of 2016 I began to experiment with a new way of working. The background is still pieced together on a grid, but are overpainted in similar colors which are scrubbed to create a deep textured surface. Shapes are then overpainted using stencils in colors which either harmonize with the background or oppose it. These shapes are suggested by fragments of monotypes which contain more dynamic compositions but are still arrived at through chance. The effect of the finished pieces are of advancing and receding forms which are frozen in time. I imagine that these forms come to life and continue changing in the mind of the viewers. I have called the style of these new works Geometric Transcendence. Later pieces have adopted a darker and more muted color palette creating moodier and more introspective paintings. 

           Other recent pieces are collages which utilize the shapes which are cut out to make the stencils and discarded stencils themselves. Shapes in stencils can be enlarged or reduced digitally and repeated on different paintings in different sizes. Lastly, some newer works are created through improvisation using previous stencils but changing the background, colors and context.

           In 2018 I began a series of painted collages, producing variations on each collage by painting over a giclee print of the collage image. These pieces echo my perception of landscape as fragments of different scenes changing over time, rather than a coherent, unified unit. These art works also reflect my experiences as a stutterer, speaking in a fractured language.

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