Dimensions of space by Rachel Hellmann: at Main Room
but must be represented by something else, by color.
I create work that blurs the line between painting, sculpture and installation. Using an abstract geometric language and carefully calculated color, I make shaped paintings that play with illusionistic and actual space. The objects I make are meticulously created out of wood and paper. My work is influenced by the science of perception and by architectural space, specifically by the moments experienced within an inhabited space, such as the visual tension when the eye travels to two corners coming together or the ephemera of light reflected off a window. Creating forms that are open-ended, each work presents an individual and intuitive experience, encouraging movement and contemplation.
Influenced by the shaped paintings of Ellsworth Kelly and Charles Hinman, I make paintings that also function as objects. Color is a driving force in my work and the vehicle with which light is described. In Looking Glass I use shifts of angle and color to create a similar play to how forms shift and reflect off of a glass or mirror. In this exhibit, there are many pieces that explore a subtle color palette. I recently have looked to Giorgio Morandi for his sensitive, quiet color. Two pieces in this exhibit that are direct result of studying Morandi’s paintings are Apart from all That and Unclouded. In Mist, a painting that also shares some of the same sensibilities, I recall the lighting situation that might happen on a foggy, wet morning.
