Sarah Gee Miller
As a collagist and painter, my work is largely concerned with clarity, equilibrium, and the expressive possibilities of vibrant color. I’m interested in the implications of totemic signage and the formalities of hard-edged abstraction. This form of abstraction is an interesting duality: it hides its volcanic energy behind imposed order, and is capable of great emotional variance despite a minimal vocabulary. This is where my art lives: a Mesotopia, in the world but not of it, sympathetic to society and yet unable to abide it.
The series of stacked forms have a hierarchical composition reflecting the inescapable influence of both First Nations and the brand of warm modernism particular to the pacific coast from Los Angeles to Vancouver. However, I always acknowledge how important the domestic sphere is as both impetus for, and appreciation of, my work. To me, art is inextricably linked to how we live and what we want to look at.
Sometimes I combine painting and collage, and the resulting images can assume the physicality of sculpture. Using a combination of handmade and digital cutting, I compose by layering the shapes and then painting with acrylic. Ellsworth Kelly said, “the form of my painting is the content” and to this I would add “the technique is itself the language”.
As my art practice evolves that totemic form which has preoccupied me for so long has evolved with the added element of low relief, creating what I call “topographical collage.” My font-based forms generate a new energy when the elevation is changed and sculptural elements intrude. By building up surfaces and allowing the work to extend into the foreground, my work brings to mind both a futuristic tribalism and a cool, op-like detachment. As my practice evolves I hope to engage more fully in this fascinating juxtaposition.
Submitted by Newzones
