MB
Site Title
Artist statement
Maria Bordelon
Painting and 3-D Art
11.15.2023
As the middle child of a family of seven, my early years were all about relationships. I propose that I have now transferred these feelings to the realm of objects and things. Objects, their size, scale, skin, and texture, speak a silent language to me that is magnetic. My painting is an exploration of these objects and forms in space. They take on considerable feelings for me; when I look at them, they tell of an anthropomorphic gesture of what is happening within the object. After 15 years of study, these objects live in my memory and have reached an iconic status for me. Roots, dried pomegranates, and petrified snails are a few among the many specimens. In my 3-D work, I create forms which are stand-ins for specific persons; the likeness in personality becomes the most dominant part of the piece.
To accept the object as a subject in and of itself, mostly in my mind, I simply recognize its “thing-ness”, and its contribution to beauty. Although the objects are not specifically recognizable, the feelings are. Since I create objects in an environment of negative space, I treat this open space as an important part of the narrative. I envelop the objects on canvases in color that makes the drawings of the icons prominent. Strong color, as a carrier of emotion is important to me and is emphasized throughout the painting.
Just as in a family, the space and age between members is interpreted by me. I carefully consider all objects, their width, height and bulk for important adjacencies. Placement does not need to be symmetrical, only balanced and only if the icons have a conversation with each other.
For me, both painting and 3-D art are acts of creating and re-creating objects. This is an enjoyable act of remembering things that attract my senses. The figures speak to me of an inner life, energetic and silent at the same time. I can repeat painting these objects continually because they express their own beauty and solitude which I admire.