ARTIST STATEMENT
For me, painting is a process of thinking, an act of desire and a kind of alchemical revelation. I am compelled to create a sense of immersion in my work, an interactive space in which I am able to experiment and create new fictions. Making large-scale paintings has been part of my process for many years and allows me the freedom to live in the space of the artwork and develop presence in the work. Working within the context of abstraction and formal design principles, structure plays an important role to balance imagery, material, process and narrative. The result of my work hopefully reflects my experience in the making the work. I think of myself as a witness to an unfolding act of discovery that is concerned with layers of concealing and revealing through paint and imagery; I endeavor to make some kind of meaning or story (that is meangful to me at least) out of this material form. The work (the process and paintings) exist as both objects and as a vehicles for storytelling.
Growing up in a rural environment influenced my desire to be an artist and also my affinity for open, immersive space. Spending my childhood in the country with limited television, an interest in fantastical stories and the learning about history of the area, cultivated a romanticized sense of wonder and a belief in the land's hidden narratives. This early fascination with nature and the unseen, combined with my formal education and research and personal experiences, has manifested into artistic themes related to environmental concerns and the convergence of nature with science, pseudoscience and spiritualism/mysticism/magic.
My current series, Shapeshifters, is an exploration into the multifaceted feminine archetype as portrayed in mythology and popular culture. These female protagonists are defined by their inherent chracteristics of duality, blended representations of earth and nature, otherworldliness and magick. They are connected to the mysteries of creation and possess transformative-transmutative abilities, while at the same time, regarded in fiction as symbols of female morality, and serving as cultural paragons in society. Recognizing the profound influence of these ingrained myths and fairy tales on our collective cultural consciousness, I seek to reinterpret and reimagine these narratives through a personal lens, using the visual language of symbolism and abstraction.
For each of my paintings, I begin with automatic drawing to create an organic structure. In response, I apply acrylic paint with glazes and add further complexity with stenciled shapes and patterns in a multi-layered process. I feel drawn into the rhythm of the work when I am making decisions about the placement of the shapes and the relationship between areas of opacity and transparency. I use an airbrush to apply the stencils as it lends an ephemeral, semi-transparent layer that allows previous marks and forms to exist as “ghost images” and act as a relief to the slower, more meditative painting processes. The stenciled shapes and patterns are re-appropriations of symbols associated with female figures and reinforce the theme of the work. For instance, the lozenge and the ellipse are both identified with the feminine in ancient and contemporary cultures across the world. Color is also an important consideration in my work; I use it as an expressive, symbolic and optical element-to create a dynamic, energetic space that also reinforces the emotive quality of the subject and the painting.
Copyright Anne Rynearson 2025.
All rights reserved. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
All rights reserved. Unauthorized use is prohibited.