Paintings
Statement
My work investigates and questions painting’s traditional form by reconfiguring aspects of its materiality (stretcher frame + canvas + paint). I explore the tension between imagery and process to address themes of memory, place, trauma, personal identity and family history.I combine drawing, painting, sewing, weaving and collage to explore the spectrum between figuration and abstraction. Extruding paint through woven materials (tightly woven organza mesh, loosely woven burlap and plastic), merges image and substrate into a new fused material layer. This materiality echoes the entwined experiences that shape us, blurring the warp and weft of memory and the present.I weave hidden messages into my work’s material and imagery. Embedded references and codes include camouflage designs, Morse code, International Signal Flags, decorative patterns and designs from cultures that make up my family history, memories and personal symbolism. Intensive research in these code systems and cultural references create a reservoir of ideas I draw from. My experimentation with material combinations via collage process require cutting up paintings, perforating the canvas to create ad hoc camouflage netting. Everything I make can be sacrificed as part of my process.
Bio
A nationally exhibited artist originally hailing from Colorado, Laurel McMechan has been an artist in residence at the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Colony and Vermont Studio Center. Her work was most recently on exhibit at Spark Gallery in Denver, Colorado, and also resides in private and public collections, including the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Rhode Island School of Design and University of Richmond Museums. She has taught at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and University of Massachusetts Lowell, and currently teaches at the University of Denver.
Contact
contact.subheading