http://edwhitmore.com/ed-whitmore/
I work with the controlled oxidation of iron, copper, and bronze metal effects paints which
creates patina, a thin layer of oxidation that forms on the surface through age and exposure. Under natural weathering, a patina layer takes many years to develop, but it can also be produced by spraying the paint with a chemical reagent, which is what I do. The process yields natural yet dramatic effects that convey the passage of time.
Both of my parents were born in Poland and survived the complete destruction of their
families and their way of life. I was born in the Bronx and spent my formative years living in Paterson, New Jersey, an industrial city that was home to past triumphs. To give my pieces an authentic feeling of the past, I often incorporate vintage materials such as letterpress trays and warped weathered wood planks. I sometimes hand chisel wood planks prior to painting which gives the work a 3D effect and has distant echoes of the bas relief panels chiseled in stone from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. When I was a young man, I developed an interest in ancient civilizations, cave art, ancient
cairns and Earth Mother Goddess sites. For the close observer, somber themes of decay and loss can be found in my work.
When I was in my early 20s, I had the opportunity to view the Mark Rothko retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. I was enthralled, found myself lost in spiritual reverie and experienced a sense of the sublime too great to be expressed in words. I seek to capture some of that sense of awe that Rothko’s work evokes and create paintings that transcend the familiar and the merely decorative. I also strive to infuse my work with anima, the vital principle or animating force within all living things.
In traditional Japanese art, wabi-sabi is an aesthetic view centered on the acceptance of
imperfection. It is a composite of Wabi (subdued, austere beauty) and sabi. (rustic patina ). My paintings and sculptures evoke a sense of serene melancholy and spiritual longing, the very essence of
wabi-sabi.
- Ed Whitmore
