Walking in Snow

Comment

Comment by judy robbins on December 25, 2013 at 8:31pm

Thank you, Kristen, for your thoughtful comments and critique. I had not thought of Romare Bearden and the Harlem Renaissance when doing this work but I see it now. I am in good company! My intent was to portray symbolically a strong feminine figure; she does not retreat into anything.

Comment by Resident Curator on December 25, 2013 at 3:55pm

Curator’s Comments: 

 

Walking in Snow is a pleasing multi-faceted work, timely for the winter season.  (Those artists lucky enough to be living someplace warm can vicariously enjoy the picturesque aspects that can develop from late December snow.) Subject aside, I’m attracted to the quilt-like decorative shapes in this work which form an engaging composited pattern, abstracting the primary figurative form in exchange for all over animated movement.  The feathered edges of the torn blocks of pattern work nicely against the smoother cut lines and linear breaks separating the figure’s dress.  The softer, more subtle collaged elements at the bottom of the space offer some visual rest, and anchor the otherwise lively interactions between the separate pieces.  I didn’t recognize the Japanese influence at first, though noted in the tag section, until I looked closer at the printed papers.  While some Japanese script is centrally present along with notable ornamental motifs, I don’t see the piece overall as exhibiting a traditionally Asian sensibility or aesthetic.  The fullness of the figure and ground, and in particular the active high chroma sky, reminds me of Romare Bearden or other visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance that integrated folk quilts into their Modernist works.  I hope you agree that this is also good company for a visual artist.