Senior Art Exhibit 2007: Josh Andre

Josh Andre

I consider the act of painting, that is, the application of color to canvas, as the most important aspect of the works I have created. How I apply the colors, what tools I utilize, and what amount of energy I use in the strokes, are what, I believe, give the paintings action and expression. To create a thick, textured, and live surface is the most important goal for these pieces.

The early paintings of this series began as gestural figure drawings within a colored environment. However, I increasingly focused solely on the environment itself until I eventually reached total abstraction. What have resulted on these canvases are experiments of color, their subtleties, their ability to express, and their action.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the painting process was the creation of visual rhythms and vibrations. By playing on the differences between layers of dark, sober colors and layered areas of brighter, fresher (and often complementary) colors, I have tried to establish a live surface that pushes toward and away from the viewer, as well as horizontally and vertically across the canvas. Also, I attempted to play on the subtleties and dynamics of color by adding multiple layers of paint, scraping layers away, and juxtaposing certain colors together.

Another important aspect of these pieces is the stroke of color itself. I used large, quick scrapes of color to raise and enhance the activity of the surface, as well as manipulate the textural/physical quality of the canvas. While all the paintings began with regular strokes from a traditional brush, I used the palette knife to bring life and dynamism to the works, making them more emotionally expressive.

Overall, what I want to come out most clearly in these paintings is the emotion, activity, and life of both color and the strokes with which they were applied.