Gayle Fraas and Duncan Slade
Black Acrylic Ink on Stonehenge white 250 gr.
These works began in the studio as simple expressions with brush and ink.
Not studied observations, they started as remembered views and evolved into constructs of landscape images adjacent to draped and wavy illusions of dots.
In these compositions we border, embellish and layer the visual plane where the parts combine to design meaning for the whole.
24 silk charmeuse panels, maple, bronze rod, fishing tackle. Approx: 10 x 10 x 10'
each silk panel: 14 x 70"
Textile structure and surface is a constant in our visual language, having been explored as material, subject and metaphor for 40 years.
To translate the images from ink on paper to dye on silk and to emulate the spontaneous way of working on paper, we chose a wet on wet process requiring new dye formulation and application testing. In this process the mark of the hand dissolves on the wet surface.
The structure of Traverse lets the individual vertical panels be seen in context with other panels for a fleeting glimpse or steady gaze. The dot pattern competes, confuses and completes the view. In a light breeze, panels ripple and pivot and a new view appears. Stop to focus on a detail....turn back...what you were looking at is gone...find the path and move on...a Traverse through the woods.
Traverse was installed at Cove Street Arts, Portland Maine in 2020 during the Pandemic in the exhibit titled "Flight" guest curated by Lissa Hunter.
Traverse is currently available for exhibit.