Frieda Kickliter
I work on large-scale abstract paintings that reference and layer multiple images. Fundamental to my process is hand drawing in pen and ink. Beginning each painting with a gestural ink drawing, I treat the paintings like continuous line drawings, referencing multiple images in one scene. I enjoy the immediacy and expressive quality of the medium. To me, the paintings are similar to obscured memories. They capture the fragmented recollections of multiple points in time and space.
In my process, I look at multiple images, drawing over previous lines. I do not erase any lines, but keep them to further abstract the layered image. I leave some areas more representational, thinking about the relationship between perceived, representational, and physical spaces. The multiple vantage points and multiple horizons are often incongruent, yet the use of strong perpendicular, horizontal, and vertical contrasts creates familiar figure-ground relationships.
I map spaces that are highly structured and detailed contrasted by loose, expressive areas. This contrast between structure and expressiveness suggests a sense of movement and rhythm. I experiment with juxtaposed, overlapping, isometric, linear, and irrational representations of space and form. There is a juxtaposition of natural, organic forms with geometric, architectural forms. I reference architectural scenes, landscapes, and plants. The intention of including both architectural and organic forms is to signal a sense of familiarity with the tangible world. The abstraction of a familiar world, however, leads me to reconsider and think critically about my unique relationship and understanding of the surrounding environment.
In my most recent pieces, I have been painting on clear mylar. Light hits and reflects off of the mylar, yet also passes through to create a new image projected on the wall by a shadow. I am intrigued by the potential of working with lighting and even material behind the transparent mylar to address and further the idea of layered imagery and fragmented memories.