Movement and stillness are not separate; they are integrated, and they inform one another. Movement in daily life is constantly encountered but seldom given thought to regarding its meaning or impacts. Stillness is not the absence of movement: it is dynamic and compatible movement.
The main concern in my art practice is to translate the silent comprehension of motion in the same way that dance explores human movement through the medium of the body. I make work that addresses the surface, the body in action, stillness and material. I want the viewer to perceive my work in connection to their physicality and movement.
The image is the result of a gestural and material encounter where the “mind” changes the surface of the support with paint as a record of the process, not a record of the contents of the mind.
As Brice Marden states, ‘Paintings are physical. So is the act of creating them. This physicality should be emphasized. If you’re not working with preconceived forms and thinking, then you can concentrate on expression. It is possible, I think, to make art on this instinctive level, out of deeply felt response.’ (Garrels, 2006)
I practice the value of the unconsidered mark in expressing an authentic, dynamic display of organic energy. The brush carves out lines that trace my actions. The mark remains as a by-product of my action. The stillness enables movement. To view Shaw's work click here.
Reference: Garrels, G. (2006) Plane image: Brice Marden retrospective.