#erinloree

Work in Progress by Erin Loree

In her upcoming exhibition, Forth and Back, Loree presents a series of pairs of paintings that continue her exploration of the opposing forces of freedom and constraint. In each pair, the first painting displays the artist’s typically unrestrained, intuitive approach, while the second demonstrates an attempt to replicate the composition of the first – a highly constrained experiment. What began as a playful exercise, became a purposeful analysis and deconstruction of a previously instinctive method. In challenging herself to duplicate the marks and painterly accidents observed in the first painting, Loree was required to significantly deepen her understanding of her materials and process.

In pausing to reflect on and identify the nuances within her painting process, a number of questions arose for the artist: How does one replicate a gesture in an authentic way without the work feeling contrived? What are the relative benefits of the planned and unplanned? Where is the border between premeditation and contrivance? How does one engage with and find meaning in the repetitive and the predictable? Is it possible to simultaneously refine and expand a work of art?

In deliberately concealing the order of the paintings, Loree leaves the viewer to compare and contrast their differentiating elements, and to speculate on the correct ordering within each pair. Through the necessary extended viewing, Loree hopes to induce a meditation on the force/flow dichotomy similar to her own.

See Erin’s work: Forth and Back Peter Robertson Gallery 12323 - 104 Ave. NW Edmonton, AB September 29 - October 20, 2018 Reception: Saturday September 29, 2 - 4pm