BOTANICALS
Prints by
EVE STOCKTON
April 6 - May 12, 2008
in the H. Pelham Curtis Gallery
Artists' Reception
Sunday, April 6, 3 - 5 PM
A Gallery Walk and Talk with the Artist
Friday, May 9, 6 - 7 PM
Nature, science, myth and memory all provide inspiration for my artwork. With a focus on large-scale woodcuts, my recent prints are evocative of landscapes and cellular activity. Utilizing a multifaceted background in architecture and art, I engage the variables of printmaking to produce an ongoing body of nature-based, graphic images.
The majority of my prints are printed from three-foot square woodblocks. Several of my prints, such as Woodland Landscape III and Evolutionary Landscape, have imagery that can grow left-to-right further blending process and content. I can deepen my investigation of a subject by repeating three-foot increments and growing the imagery to 6’, 9’, 12’, and so forth. In addition, there is unlimited potential to expand these prints into dynamic installations, such as the 21’ Clouds into Water Series. Typically each set of woodblocks is printed to make a small edition of 5-10 prints along with trial proofs and variable proofs. The “Bloom” series is a variable edition of colorful prints that can be exhibited individually or can be grouped in dynamic clusters.
My prints are about nature. Nature’s creative force is evoked by probing states of dynamic transition in general, and rhythms of individual forms and phenomena in particular. Organic patterns combine w/ shifts of light and color in a visual tapestry of abstracted forms.The subject matter of these nature-based prints seems familiar at first. Upon closer observation, however, the imagery is rendered to suggest dichotomies, such as order/chaos, fragility/fecundity, and microcosm/macrocosm.
A curator described a recent print as having “a science-fiction feel”. While my imagery might have both an alluring and a forbidding quality, my main goal is simply to give elemental things a new expression. My woodcuts reflect observations of the outdoors plus an eclectic interest in science. They stem from a compulsion to record and analyze. There’s an environmental reference, but not in a didactic way. These large prints, especially in their expanded forms, can challenge how one perceives the natural world by begging contemplation of the most basic elements of life.
My artwork can be seen at www.evestockton.com.