BASH PIECES
Liberated While Living, Acrylic on canvas, 45 x 60 in, $4,500
And the World was Peopled with Wonders (John Steinbeck), Acrylic on canvas,
60 x 60 in, $7,500
ARTIST STATEMENT:
The text that inspired and then identified the shakti work by title finally entered the work itself and became an integral part of the content. Structured by a grid format, the unadorned letterforms contribute to another layer of patterning within the painting. This
formal, abstract arrangement of letters is emphasized by eliminating punctuation and running the words together so that the content is not easily discerned. It is important to me that the text first is perceived as part of a painting and secondarily, as words.
The words, however, do matter. Culled from various sources and cultures, the text fragments express underlying values, ideas, and beliefs which are provocative, arresting or spiritually potent to me. They are carefully selected from the on-going tsunami of data so that they might stand alone once again and be reconsidered. Looking at a painting is an opportunity to resist our fast-forward world; it is an opportunity to stand and consider. The text is another layer to absorb in this literal and metaphoric depth.
BIO:
Jane Braddock has a BFA from Syracuse University. After a stint of 16 years in NY designing and coloring fabrics for the decorative trade, she moved to Nashville to pursue a full time career as a painter.
Her abstract paintings, based on a grid format, explore pattern and color. She considers these to be fundamental expressions of light. Like light, their juxtaposition creates a vibration or
energy which transcends language—though Braddock’s works often incorporate text, the words appear fragmented and severed from their original contexts. A new gestalt meaning is created by this act of re-contextualization.
These quotations are culled from various sources spanning over 1000 years. These range from Du Fu, an ancient Chinese poet, to Muktananda, an esteemed holy man, to John Prine, singer
songwriter. These in one way or another reflect her spiritual journey, which she considers the essence of her life and work.
