I am painting the body as vehicle, simple forms with wheels or wings. These car, rocket and plane-like forms imply movement, energy and action yet they are often surrounded in floating ungrounded space. They travel precariously through their environment finding chance encounters or missed connections and always the uncertainty of any rest or arrival.
The luminosity of oil paint and the movement of brushstrokes play an active role in the development of my imagery and composition. Color is vital for me; I visualize color as specific form. I use sandpaper to erase, building up layers of color that contribute to the final composition. It is both an additive and subtractive process that takes many months to complete. My paintings utilize large shapes in a small-scale. I work on four to six paintings at a time, each painting interacting in a dialogue with the others. My work is serial with forms recurring and reconfigured in new work. I draw using watercolor to discover new imagery and often draw while painting to complete a composition.
I was born in Paterson New Jersey. My B.A. in Studio Art is from Fordham University and I hold an M.F.A. in painting from Bard College. I have exhibited my work for over twenty years in numerous groups shows both upstate and in New York City. I have been awarded artist residencies at Yaddo, Blue Mountain Center and Byrdcliffe. My drawings were included in “ Winter Selections 2001” at The Drawing Center and “Timeless: The Art of Drawing” at The Morris Museum in 2008. I have had two solo shows at Holland Tunnel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, “Squirm” in 2003 and “Rainbow Twist” in 2005. My solo show “Going” was presented at Brooklyn Creative League in 2014. My home and studio are in Brooklyn.
Grace Markman
