In this installment I discuss my series of figure-based paintings, the Black Holes series.
These are large-scaled, textured paintings of silhouetted figures immersed abstracted environments. Here I share my thought and development process, and the why.
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Thank you so much,
Steve
Summary —
Welcome to the Steve Sas Schwartz Podcast — Episode 7, where we discuss all things related to contemporary art.
In this installment I talk about my Black Holes series, which is a figure-based series of paintings. As mentioned before I work in different genres simultaneously, which loosely are abstract, conceptual, and in this case, figurative.
These works evolved from my fascination w the human form and working directly from life, working up line drawings from someone posing. Then I like to abstract and re-contextualize them.
Regarding the drawing, I love the immediacy of line, black charcoal on a light surface. At best, the line at once describes the form and personality of the model. Line cuts to the chase, pairs away everything irrelevant, often shows the soul of the sitter albeit blended w that of the artist. But then I wanted the line to have volumetric life, not just have flat character, but dimensional personality too. So then I redraw the drawing w thick, transparent plastics that reveal the line but gives it physical depth as well. These lines are tactile and liven up the surface of the painting. In a sense, the figure exists to hang a painting on.
At this stage of the process these figures are still personalized, individuals. However, I wanted them specific yet general, and so I silhouetted them, which makes them more universal as it conceals particulars, and yet the line’s not camouflaged because it has three dimensional weight. So the silhouettes still have structure, a kind of scaffolding, unique but general.
I then like to set them in a spare yet somewhat active and lively environment, but w a restricted palette. These areas can be completely abstract w portions built up w thick ropes of plastics and other materials which adds a layered, archaeological aspect to the paintings.
Ideally, I’d like these pieces to feel at once iconic yet also somewhat everyday, a moment somehow caught and analyzed. And they should convey a physical, spiritual presence, something that resonates far beyond the materials and content, hopefully something transcendent.\\\