Richard Currier
The most difficult task for many artists is to explain their artwork to someone who asks, “Why is this done?” or “What does this mean?”. Unlike a work of literature, which must be read to find the message which lies within the words and pages, a painting exists in its entirety right on the surface. Everything the artist intended is exposed for everyone to see in the completed painting.
It is up to the viewer to decide if the work deserves his attention. For the artist, there are no right or wrong answers to the questions of “why?” or “what?” posed by the imagery. The viewer, assuming he is intrigued by a painting, must find his own answers. Often this results in a wide variety of interpretations, because the response of one viewer may be completely different from another‘s. Therein lies the beauty of art. The questions are always the same; it is the response that changes from viewer to viewer, from one period of time to another, and from one set of circumstances to another. Therein, I think, lies the purpose for art. It mirrors the changing human condition in the responses of its viewers.
As a painter of ‘real’ objects, I have always been drawn towards dramatic imagery that uses contrasting elements of color, shape and space. I paint until the objects become more than what they are. Although ‘realism’ is not necessarily the goal, this seems to result in a heightened reality to the images. I enjoy the balance of positive and negative space, pulling imagery from the space as well as pushing space back to expose the form. To me, the subject of my paintings has always been the fusion of light and form. The objects carry light and form within the space and provide a reference for the viewer. This relation of artwork and viewer is very important. Art is incomplete without its audience.
Landscapes, on the other hand, have their own aesthetic. Apart from social or political forms of art, they are a response to a time and place processed through the artist’s imagination. Based on my travels throughout my native Florida, I draw on my emotional responses to the mental images I have collected over the years. I focus not on the objects found in a landscape but on the spaces, infused with light, that lie between the objective realities. That is where I find the passion for painting.
