About: Artist Richard Carlson

MS/ Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
BA/ Lebanon Valley College, Annville, PA

My works are acrylic paintings -- no printmaking or photographic process is involved. Some viewers think they are Polaroids or cibachrome prints. Others think silkscreen. The illusion of relief is achieved with a very thin application of gesso followed by layers of paint on 100% rag Stonehenge paper or wood panels.

The pieces attempt to synthesize simplicity and complexity, suppleness and rigidity, purity and modulation, organic and inorganic, spontaneity and intentionality, the intuitive and the analytical. I explore the varied interactions of materials and their attributes. Often the result grows into a spiritual whole called a painting.

How do I read the works? I often begin with the geometric shape, a bar or square usually, and think of it as a figure - something in the pictorial plane with which I identify as another viewer of the painting. . . a fellow witness to what is there. Then I explore the textures, colors, edges, the illusion of depth, and sort of get lost in there - in a restful, refreshing, connected way. Even though these are visual, I experience them as tactile, too. My reading of a work may not be another viewer's reading and my reading this year may not be the same as next year. We change. But I hope the work continues to renew, refresh, and inspire.

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