SWAB Barcelona Contemporary Art Fair
Andrew West
Andrew West, "Colusa" 2023,
Oil on canvas, 15 x 16 inches
Artist Statement
History painting, at its peak, sought to engage a wide audience, and was arguably the last era in which painting was culturally relevant. Eventually, postmodernism confirmed that history comes in many forms; it is no longer valid to view the world solely through the lens of Western hegemony. Yet, though often unpopular and misunderstood, abstraction has a true claim to universality. We find it in cave paintings, in Native America, Islamic art, and Soviet Constructivism. The formal properties of artwork are freely available to all viewers.
My own work utilizes improvisational abstraction in an effort to shift perception of urban history; to reflect upon and celebrate the communal, accessible artificial environment. I seek to maximize tension through contrast: between foreground and background, color, texture, line, and facture. The structure established in each painting, dictated by the logic of paint and its movement, parallels the architectural character of my compositional source material. Whether artifacts from vanished Victorians of Bunker Hill, the deep green ironwork, doors, and houses around Amsterdam, or old shop signs surviving across Los Angeles, this historical dimension fuels the production of paintings which aspire to stand their ground under the stern gaze of art's own history.
History painting, at its peak, sought to engage a wide audience, and was arguably the last era in which painting was culturally relevant. Eventually, postmodernism confirmed that history comes in many forms; it is no longer valid to view the world solely through the lens of Western hegemony. Yet, though often unpopular and misunderstood, abstraction has a true claim to universality. We find it in cave paintings, in Native America, Islamic art, and Soviet Constructivism. The formal properties of artwork are freely available to all viewers.
My own work utilizes improvisational abstraction in an effort to shift perception of urban history; to reflect upon and celebrate the communal, accessible artificial environment. I seek to maximize tension through contrast: between foreground and background, color, texture, line, and facture. The structure established in each painting, dictated by the logic of paint and its movement, parallels the architectural character of my compositional source material. Whether artifacts from vanished Victorians of Bunker Hill, the deep green ironwork, doors, and houses around Amsterdam, or old shop signs surviving across Los Angeles, this historical dimension fuels the production of paintings which aspire to stand their ground under the stern gaze of art's own history.