Kathryn Wiley
CONVERGENCEArtist’s Statement
November 2009 Foundry Gallery Show

My 2007 show at the Foundry Gallery was called Transition, from fairly realistic representation to abstraction; this one is called Convergence because the two idioms seem to be coming together in my work. The addition of fairly abstract sculpture adds another element to the mix. I haven’t left realism entirely, but abstraction is gaining ground fast.

In this second show of paintings at the Foundry, I am still finding inspiration in the natural world, even though most of the work is quite abstract. There are several pieces, the Canal Series in the foyer and the Galway Coast series in the smaller front room, which have a firm foundation in visible reality, but take off from there to find an arrangement of volumes and colors that does not quite represent the real.

The paintings in the large front room and in the small back room are reaching for something closer to true abstraction. Even though the paintings have names that, in many cases, link them to a visual reality, the individual viewer is not necessarily tied to that version of the visible. Here again, as in my 2007 show, the viewer seems to be finding his way through a different narrative, perhaps seeing around or through obstacles to something beyond. The exploration o f color relationships is important in this show as well.

The sculpture from found objects represents a new direction for me. Sidelined by broken ankles in late 2008, I found I could continue to create interesting, amusing or pleasing objects while seated. These are truly one of a kind, as managing to find again the same objects in the same condition seems unlikely.