Artist Statement by Santa Fe, Painter Nancy Reyner
Call me an optimist, but I believe that art can heal. Man has the powerful ability to dream, to create better worlds and new realities. And images play an important role in this. Our history begins with images, which go far back in time, even farther than language, and are cross cultural. We are united through images. I keep this in mind daily as I am barraged through news and media with sensationalist stories and events of world crisis. Part of me wants to join the peace corps but instead I paint. I paint with the conviction that my images can heal.
Picture clear amber with fragments of nature suspended inside, and you've got a close up view of one of my paintings. These painted facets of botany combine with layers of poured paint and richly colored geometric patterns, to create inner psychological landscapes. Some forms remain visible, while others become veiled or buried thus creating a metaphor for transformation and growth.
To create powerful but positive images, painting becomes an excavation of self, searching for questions as well as answers. Questions emerge about materiality, visibility, presence. In what ways do cultures control perception? What is visible and what remains hidden? And how does this vision affect our views of reality and illusion?
The very act of painting urges me to confront questions about aesthetics. What is the relationship between beauty and healing? I believe Beauty emerges when the painting takes the viewer on a journey where they can question, explore and discover their own truth.
To read more click here for Nancy's personal comments on her new work.
