ARTIST STATEMENT

Anna Friesen / "Mining" SCA Gallery March, 2010

These most recent pieces combine an ongoing interest in transparent surfaces formed through the spontaneous effects of the elements of water and fire. The layering of media (soot) onto a raw surface and the resulting transparent layers are reminiscent of Chinese brush paintings and the Color Field paintings of of Helen Frankenthaler .

The use of solid elements ( metals - brass tacks, hammered gold and copper wires, layers of paper) lends a counterpoint to the subtle shadings of the soot which is ‘painted’ onto the clayboard or wooden surface.

These random images are the result of the effects of the element, fire. When the source of the fire is the sun, time and place are factors. When the marks are the result of flame, random moments are recorded, creating layers of shades of colors, of shapes. The result is a suggestion of psychological space rather than real time and place; images that are symbols of the element of chance and the uncontrollable passage of time – the natural cycle of renewal and decay.

Creating these images I give up control of the media. The element of chance, the effect of slight breezes, fuel for the flame all give a spontaneity to the works which yield the element of surprise and discovery.