Thursday, March 26, 2020









© Elaine Weiner-Reed - "Les Retrouvailles"

Les Retrouvailles (Found Memories)


Paths intersect.   Lives are impacted.   Identities evolve.  Everything happens for  a reason.  Seemingly random encounters are anything but random.


“To move forward, we have to understand and know
where we came from
and how we got to any given place in time.
Everything is connected…”


Reflections

"Les Retrouvailles" represents one's search for meaning as we alternatively try to remember...or to forget. In this work, the figure appears turned in or wrapped around herself. This conceptualization of action, highlighted by the curvilinear linework, presents a pictorial image of our search for meaning and understanding. A large percentage of our identity is founded on our memories - those snapshots and film clips contained only in our mind's eye. Holding onto memories, this woman is working her mind to retrieve more memories - some key to her journey. The hope is that its resurgence will bring a positive effect in her present day existence.


Background

I don't know what it is about painting on unstretched canvas on my studio floor, but for me, it is liberating. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I am able to walk on it or around it as I paint. Perhaps it is because it allows me to literally become one with it as I slide it hither and yon to reach an area or even kneel on it as I fine-tune another area. There is an intimacy in that and an informality about it not being rigidly fashioned around the corners of stretchers and sized into someone else's parameters or dimensions of choice. I cut this canvas and began painting "Les Retrouvailles" while working on an abstract series I titled "Raw Edges." As an artist, my tendency is towards the figurative, and I generally am called back to it some 3 or 4 years after I begin experimenting with a new medium or surface. This piece is a significant one in that it represents my transition back into a figurative phase, bridging the non-objective while incorporating the figure. 

I hope your memories provide you solace and joy!

For more of Elaine's artwork or to purchase this painting, visit:   Saatchi Art Online


© 2020 Elaine Weiner-Reed (EWR)
      All images and content remain the property of the Artist. No reproductions or prints are authorized. All rights reserved.