The Birth of Painting, started 2015
The Birth of Painting is a series of paintings completely handmade from local organic materials: grass, wood, weeds, bark… Otherwise working in a system of mass production and readily available art materials, the poetic absurdity of this labor is, for me, a refresher on some of painting’s greatest lessons: working with our hands, knowing where our materials come from, fabricating our own tools and appreciating the beauty of imperfections. Paintings without paint, the resulting canvases do not receive any projections or representations onto them, but rather themselves become the embodiment of a place and the mental map of a territory.
The Birth of Painting (Bucharest), 2022
Grass, weeds, and wood from Bucharest
8 x 8” / 20,3 x 20,3 cm
Canvas made entirely from materials found in Bucharest: stretcher bars built from collected wood and canvas woven from picked grass and weeds.
The Birth of Painting (Shanghai), 2019-2020
Grass and bamboo from Shanghai
7 x 7"/17.8 x 17.8 cm
Canvas made entirely from materials found in Shanghai: stretcher bars built from collected bamboo and canvas woven from picked grass and bamboo leaves.
The Birth of Painting (Weir Farm), 2018
Wood, twigs and grass from Weir Farm
6 x 6" / 12.25 x 12.25 cm
Canvas made entirely from materials found around Weir Farm: stretcher bars built from wood collected in the forest and canvas woven from twigs and grass picked along the road to Branchville.
The Birth of Painting (Jalovik), 2018
Wood, bark and grass from Jalovik
5 x 5" / 12.5 x 12.5 cm
Canvas made entirely from materials found in Jalovik: stretcher bars built from collected wood and canvas woven from picked grass and bark.
The Birth of Painting (New York City), 2015-2018
Wood, bark and grass from Harlem and Dumbo
4 x 4" /10 x 10 cm
Canvas made entirely from materials found in New York City: stretcher bars built from wood collected in Harlem and canvas woven from bark and grass picked in Harlem and Dumbo.
