Albert Lewis
Art Explosion Studios
744 Alabama St, SF ,CA
Studio number: 139
Links:
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Artist Statement:
As a human animal, I interpret my environment by creating images in which the importance of material equals the emotional and existential. When I use oil paint I feel very close to the medium. I use traditional processes and naturally occurring pigments and oils. I craft my own wooden panels which I seal with rabbit skin glue and silk. On top of this I put layers of gesso made from rabbit skin glue, calcium carbonate and water. The successive layers of oil paint include linseed oil, walnut oil, poppy oil, aspic oil, copal resin and earth pigments. The attention to natural ingredients stems from an appreciation of the complex organization of the natural world. When I am painting landscapes or portraits, the physical make-up of my subjects is of great importance to me. I paint what I see as inanimate objects and exaggerate the flow and movement to represent the energy that has given life to the elements on our planet. Collage allows me to draw from boundless human artifacts like the innumerable objects and images pumped through our visual culture. Drawing from this vast pool of media and free to explore whatever motifs tickle my curiosity, I assemble exhibits of human nature. The work suggests—insists—that we are very strange animals. I experiment heavily with different methods and materials of making art. My interests in understanding the materials I use are an important part of the process of interpreting life and its surrealistic tendencies.
Haypress Creek
