Avy Claire, Recent Works
Avy Claire, Recent Works
March 6 through April 6, 2013
"As long as I can remember, I have noted moments in time. When I buy a new book, the first thing I do is put that date on the front page. I have a system for titling my artwork that acts as a chronological code. In 2003 I began drawing in such a way that it became clear to me I was marking time. I made scrolls, filled pages of sketchbooks and worked on small pieces of paper with marks in regular patterns creating what felt like a necessary kind of order. Each work is dated with the same intentionality of a journal entry. And, my larger installations are comprised of components, which individually act as time capsules.
I have come to understand that my artwork is my visual memory. How I respond to what is in front of me, whether it is the majestic beauty of the natural world or a news report heard while driving the car, I look at each visual trace I make as a memento. During this time in Southern California I have intentionally limited myself to painting. I have been living on top of a mountain; 7 miles of winding narrow road above Santa Barbara with a view of the Pacific, where I watch layers of weather move along the horizon. The small community of houses is grandfathered into the Los Padres National Forest and the chaparral landscape - the animated rock formations, canyons, scrub brush - has been my muse.
I call the series of paintings, Painted Cave, which references the Chumash Painted Caves that are a short walk from my studio. What happened these past few months in the studio is from this moment in time."
Avy Claire biography
Avy Claire website
March 6 through April 6, 2013
"As long as I can remember, I have noted moments in time. When I buy a new book, the first thing I do is put that date on the front page. I have a system for titling my artwork that acts as a chronological code. In 2003 I began drawing in such a way that it became clear to me I was marking time. I made scrolls, filled pages of sketchbooks and worked on small pieces of paper with marks in regular patterns creating what felt like a necessary kind of order. Each work is dated with the same intentionality of a journal entry. And, my larger installations are comprised of components, which individually act as time capsules.
I have come to understand that my artwork is my visual memory. How I respond to what is in front of me, whether it is the majestic beauty of the natural world or a news report heard while driving the car, I look at each visual trace I make as a memento. During this time in Southern California I have intentionally limited myself to painting. I have been living on top of a mountain; 7 miles of winding narrow road above Santa Barbara with a view of the Pacific, where I watch layers of weather move along the horizon. The small community of houses is grandfathered into the Los Padres National Forest and the chaparral landscape - the animated rock formations, canyons, scrub brush - has been my muse.
I call the series of paintings, Painted Cave, which references the Chumash Painted Caves that are a short walk from my studio. What happened these past few months in the studio is from this moment in time."
Avy Claire biography
Avy Claire website