STATEMENT OF WORK

Jessica Weiss

My paintings employ a tactile mixture of collaged materials: wallpaper, fabric, silkscreened canvas, and paint. Schooled in principles of abstraction and a scavenger at heart, I apply these found or handmade goods to canvas as one might use a brushstroke. My process is playful—I pin, tear, cut, and paste, juxtaposing components in a search to discover a space or form with a narrative suggestion. Using unconventional means, I aim for the age-old aspirations of painting: color becoming light and flatness becoming space.

Over three decades ago, my interest in the domestic led me to search for an authentic mark that resonated with my fundamental abstract aesthetic. I discovered wallpaper as both the material and the expressive gesture I had been seeking. I was captivated by the seamless fusion of wallpaper's mimetic elements with abstraction, allowing me to navigate between representational and abstract realms. Wallpaper, as a cultural fabric, has become a significant element in my artistic toolbox, infusing my work with layers of meaning and history.

In my current work I construct solitary figures from my physical material palette, each ripe with suggestive imagery. Outstretched arms and held objects convey moments of offering and/or receiving. The figures serve as symbols of human connection and introspection, inviting the viewer to pause and reflect amid life's complexities.

The intricate interplay of patterns and unexpected juxtapositions invites prolonged looking. Informed by my Buddhist practice, serenity coexists with activity, allowing the viewer to find tranquility within an active and suggestive visual tapestry.