Utilizing a minimalist color palette, Weaser’s process-based paintings are excavations of memories shaped by time. Working tirelessly, Weaser has to put down layers of color quickly before the quick-drying paint becomes permanently fixed on the panels. In this way she builds up fluid layers intuitively placing large swathes of color while working the entirety of the surface. Layers of paint are collaged into seamless undulations pierced by lighter areas, reminiscent of dappled sunlight. It is these spots of brightness that the artist then excavates, exposing the base panel while re-connecting the layers of paint on top back into the whole of the image. Using a sander, Weaser takes away areas of color, cutting through to the bottom of the composition in organic movements that echo the direction of her brushstrokes, revealing the final composition.
In Weaser’s work there are echoes of the aesthetic visions of the great American and European traditions of Romantic landscape painting. Though the artist draws from many of the same awe-inspiring feelings of confrontation with nature, her process also makes the work intensely introspective, urging the viewer to turn inward and forge a connection to a personal evocation. The scale of the works contributes to an immenseness of presence relaying submergence into sense-memory, while seemingly incidental moments of captivating beauty provide ample room for exploration.
Audra Weaser (b. 1967) is a Los Angeles-based artist, with a practice rooted in process. For the past decade her work has focused on nature. She holds an M.F.A. in painting from Claremont Graduate University.
JoAnne Artman Gallery, presents:
Abstract Visions: Featuring Audra Weaser
August 1st, 2023 – September 30th, 2023
JoAnne Artman Gallery
346 N Coast Hwy | Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Website: www.joanneartmangallery.com
