REFLECTIONS: Audra Weaser

JoAnne Artman Gallery, presents:
REFLECTIONS: Audra Weaser
November 15, 2023 - January 15, 2024

JoAnne Artman Gallery
511A West 22nd St. | New York, NY 10011
Contact:  JoAnne Artman
Telephone:  949-510-5481 | E-mail: joanneartman@aol.com
Website: www.joanneartmangallery.com

REFLECTIONS

JoAnne Artman Gallery is pleased to present REFLECTIONS, a solo exhibition of new works by Audra Weaser. Nature in an abstracted, or reflected state, has always been an inspiration for Weaser. Evoking the tradition of Abstract Expressionism, she utilizes the familiar visual reference of the landscape as a vehicle for experimentation; Weaser captures her vistas not in a literal likeness, but rather in its forms, colors, effects, and the subjective experience it conjures. Such scenes evoke powerful, emotionally charged memories reflective of not only her personal history, but of the light refractions and reflections of water surfaces that inspire each composition.

With a channeled devotion to landscapes, the ebb and flow of the environment is mimicked in Weaser’s process and surface quality. Intuitively placing large swathes of color, layers of paint are collaged into seamless undulations pierced by lighter areas, reminiscent of dappled sunlight. Selectively buffing away areas, she cuts through to the bottom layer in movements that echo the direction of her brushstrokes, revealing the final composition.

“For the majority of paintings in this exhibition I’ve chosen canvas over wood panels, which allows for more accidental movement from the flow of paint. I’m also emphasizing built-up layers of iridescent color that contrast with the matte colors underneath. Then, through a physically intense sanding process, the composition emerges with an almost sculptural depth—presenting the illusion of a living landscape,” Weaser explains.

Constructed with wavering intensity of colors and patterns that dissolve and merge, the paintings mimic the steady rhythms, small variations, and cyclical forms found in the organic. As in a body of water, the horizon line in each work serves as a point of reflection, creating two mirrored halves that at times seem to recede into the distance. Ripples provide the idea of tension, motion, and vibrational pull on the surface.

Though Weaser 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.

AUDRA WEASER (b. 1967) is a Los Angeles-based artist, with a practice rooted in process. She holds an M.F.A. in painting from Claremont Graduate University, and has exhibited widely both nationally and abroad, with work in numerous private and public collections.