California Bay Area Contemporary Artist, Lisa Espenmiller“The Way”, uses line, movement, and space to focus intent on material and repetition of pattern, in a meditative process. Hers is a controlled technique akin to writing on a scroll. Espenmiller draws horizontal ink lines, one after the other, until the entire surface of canvas or paper becomes a field of meditative resonance. The lines and washes of color in her paintings are visual descriptions of the chi or breath-energy that flows through all things.1
“I have this notion that art occurs in the process of life itself, and you don’t have to go outside of the context of your own life. It’s all there, and you just tap into it. You open up to it. You have to make yourself available to possibilities.”
— David Ireland, he Art of David IrelandThe Way Things Are2
Lisa Espenmiller “Begin in the small,” 2013 acrylic and ink on canvas over panel 20 x 20 inchesLisa Espenmiller “Born in the void” 2013 acrylic and ink on canvas over panel 20 x 20 inchesLisa Espenmiller “Know when to stop”, 2012 acrylic & ink on canvas over panel 24″ x 24″Lisa Espenmiller “Nothing slips through”, 2014 acrylic & ink on canvas over panel 30″ x 30″Lisa Espenmiller “Of its own accord “ acrylic & ink on canvas over panel 24″ x 24″Lisa Espenmiller “Some breathe gently”, 2013 acrylic & ink on canvas over panel 36″ x 36″
Artist’s Statement
The lines and washes of color in my paintings and works on paper, visual descriptions of the chi or breath-energy that flows through all things, seek to sober and quiet the mind. When the mind quiets it becomes susceptible to inspiration, to movement from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic. Whether the body of work attempts to depict the inner scenery of breath-energy (The Way, Where you come from), the ever-shifting inner and outer landscape (the groundless ground), or talismanic power (chant), the goal is to engender a stilling of the hyperactive mind so the viewer can recognize the existence of a source that transcends human or divine authority – what Lao Tzu refers to as “dark-enigma” – the chi-tissue of empirical reality and the empty opening of consciousness itself.
The paintings and works on paper function both as mirror and window. Viewers are encouraged to stand before each one allowing the piece to offer a reflection of what’s inside or a view into another layer of reality. Think of them as modern mandalas or yantras.
As in meditation, my process requires that I remain rooted and immersed in the realization of the piece for a focused, uninterrupted period of time. There is little time or space for the logical mind to intervene in an attempt to control the outcome. The pace of each line, the movement of the brush or pen are guided by intuition and “no-mind,” accepting and trusting what presents itself in each fluid, changing moment.
Much of Bay Area Artist, Connie Goldman’s1 work relates to upset equilibrium and the tension between stasis and flux. Her work is reductive and abstract yet deeply personal. As with equilibrium, it is not static but always on the brink of changing in one form or another.
As part of our Temporary Contemporary Fine Arts Exhibit Garden Court has introduced Connie Goldman’s abstracts to our Vermont Center Gallery. Combining contemporary alongside the antique reflect the juxtaposed styles of designers and collectors today. Our Fine Arts Exhibit is presented by Art Consultant, Laurie Ghielmetti Interior + Art2.
Connie Goldman, Phasis XI, 2007, Oil-on-panel, 32 in x 60 in.
Connie Goldman, Phasis X, 2007, Oil-on-panel, 32 in. x 60 in.
Phasis Series
Phasis n. a manner, stage, or aspect of being; phase .
Phase n. (1) any of the major appearances or aspects in which a thing of varying modes or conditions manifests itself to the eye or mind (2) a stage in a process of change or development (3) the particular appearance presented by the moon or a planet at a given time.
Lunar Phase – Lunar phase refers to the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer, (usually) on earth.
The multiple panels allow for time elapsed and changing points of view. These pieces speak to the constancy of change, the predictability of uncertainty. 3
The creative process for Ms Goldman often begins with sketches and words. Phasis began with sketches ( At point 1:25 in the video above ) and a rift on ‘Phases of the Moon’. A self-confessed ‘Geek’, Ms Goldman loves words. She will sit and read the dictionary. “Language, music, poetry”, she says,”has a certain meter to it, a regularity like our own heartbeat”. She’s also a “Quote Junkie” having collected thousands of them over the years. These quotes serve as a type of shortcut to express ideas and a personal point of view. Ms Goldman read a few of her favorite quotes to Blogger, Phillip J. Mellen of Ahtcast in a 2013 interview. 4
Robert Henri5 (leading figure in the Ashcan Art Movement6 of the early twentieth century): “The object isn’t to make art, It’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable”7
Frank Lobdell8: “Sometimes it’s not what one puts into a painting but rather what one leaves out that makes a compelling picture.”9
Pearl Buck10: “The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To them a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstacy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a God, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism, the overpowering necessity to create, create, create, so that without the creating of music, or poetry, or books or buildings or of something of meaning, their very breath is cut off. They must create — must pour out creation. By some strange unknown urgency, they are not really alive unless they are creating. “11
Patti Smith12: “In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life, may you proceed with balance and stealth.”13
Marcel Proust14 : “The real voyage of discovery consists in not seeking new landscapes but having new eyes.”15
Anais Nin16: “There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risks it took to blossom.”17
Constantin Brâncuși18 : on Abstraction. “When you see a fish, you don’t think of its scales, do you? You think of it’s speed, it’s floating, flashing body seen through the water. If I make fins and eyes and scales I would arrest its movement. Give it pattern or shape of reality. I just want the flash of the spirit. “19
Paul Cézanne20: “Painting is damned difficult. You always think you’ve got it but you haven’t. I could paint for a hundred years, a thousand years, without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing.”21
Bay Area Abstract Artist, Connie Goldman.
Asked to apply three to five words to describe her work, Ms Goldman responded, “Quiet, understated, musical. My work is far-reaching, referencing other disciplines, language and music; the spaces that exist in music, haiku, proportion.” The creative process is never-ending. Of her work, Ms Goldman observes: “You can’t master it. You can’t completely master it.”
Connie Goldman, Captive I, 2006, Oil-on-panel, 53 in. x 43 in. x 2 in.
Connie Goldman, Captive II, 2006, Oil-on-panel, 48 in. x 39 in. x 2 in.
Artist Statement
Using a minimalist vocabulary and a reductive aesthetic that emphasizes the importance of space, rhythm, structure, and relations, I make works of art that are concrete and essential approximations of my own emotional and intellectual experiences. The work reflects my interests in architecture, music, science, sculpture, and painting as well as the threads of commonality that run between them.
The tendency or desire to gravitate toward unity and stability is in opposition to the urge toward independence, transition, and growth. My work evokes this same tension, the dynamic that underlies my own existence. I see each piece as being analogous to the rhythmic and contradictory forces of stasis and flux that propel my world toward both constancy and change.
Patricia Lee ‘Patti’ Smith(born December 30, 1946) American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist an influential component of the New York City seventies punk rock movement. ↩
Constantin Brâncuși( February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957 ) Romanian sculptor, painter and photographer; considered a pioneer of modernism, one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century, ‘patriarch of modern sculpture’ ↩
