Pat Paxson — Abstracted figuration (paintings and drawings)

I am currently living in London, England, and have done for many years (born and raised in the U.S.). We are now also setting up a studio/condo in New Bedford MA at the Ropeworks. In the last 8 or 9 years, while living in London, I completed an M.A. in Drawing and a Ph.D. in Visual Arts (painting and theory). Early in 2007 I had 2 separate solo shows in London. In 2006 I had work in several shows, Open Studios, and an art fair.

The paintings happen in an energistic sense rather than as a planned image. They are based in a long-term fascination with making images that suggest interactions between people in terms of emotion and energy. The dynamic underlay of marks is an unplanned quest for effects relating to emotion and memory. Rather than representing a certain theatrical moment, there are suggestions of qualities of personal space, individual mood and/or trans-individual interactions, seen in uncertain space and time. Re-thinking depiction of the figure: scattering borders and boundaries; questioning the gaze; breaks, flows and intensities of energy.

For more information: www.patpaxson.co.uk