BARBARA FISHER

In this series, I was drawn once again to a grid As is often the case, I was “circling back around” on myself and addressing the grid from a new angle A lot of my personal icons reappear - chair, vessel, shoe, house. In addition, there are new ones that have mysteriously entered my psyche – magnet, conveyor belt, suitcase. As in past series, these apparently unrelated random objects exist together in a grid, creating a new order that is both harmonious and dissonant.

This series grew out of both the Balance and Time and the Landscape series. The great debate of Evolution vs. Creationism led some people to a new concept referred to as “Intelligent Design”. As I create my own skewed universe on canvas, the absurdity of these evangelical arguments makes me laugh as I enjoy playing the role of Intelligent Designer.

I had never thought of myself as a landscape painter, but to my surprise the landscape began to infiltrate my work in both concept and composition. Experimenting with a very horizontal composition no doubt affected me. Clocks began to appear, rolling up or down hill or stuck in crevasses or waves. Clearly, time is passing but, ironically, each painting captures a moment in time.

In this series, new and recurrent elements interact within landscape-like space, sometimes interrupted by geometric boundaries. These often dissonant components - architectural forms, vessels, chairs, rocks, water - fight to fit into the mysterious space. Objects are often poised precariously or sit on the edge of an abyss. Within each piece the imagery and the composition are challenged to create the tension necessary to maintain balance amid the chaos of these other-worldly landscapes.

This body of work grew out of a challenge I set up for myself to break out of the grid format. In order to throw myself off, I added circles and arcs to divide the compartments. From here, forms began to break through to other areas, and gradually this compositional format receded almost completely. My forms were forced to interact with each other through and around walls. Dealing with all the open space made me seasick at times, but as always the change in format led me toward a new way of looking.

These images resemble the skeletal forms of some of my familiar paint figures....or thsoe figures emering. The forms become more animated than they are in the paintings; they appear to be communicating with one another. They have scars and wounds, and they cast mysterious shadows. The distressed look of the forms is enhanced by the process of erasing and redrawing. The color drawings are china marker on drafting film.