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Christopher Hellman
In writing about my art, I find that the process of my paintings takes over - words surround and indicate meanings while slipping ambiguously around the heart of the matter. My work has always displayed an interest in the way energy is expressed through physical forms, but the particular qualities of Japanese style ink painting (sumi-e), with its close connection to traditions that deal with the nature of change and flow, have allowed me to deal with this more directly. The restraints imposed by the medium have forced me to focus on my own understanding of the nature of resistance and flow. The spread of ink and water across the paper mimics the interplay of mist and clouds, water and mountains, that are the immediate subjects of my work. Perhaps the real subject of these paintings though, is the relationship between essence and form: the infinite minute permutations that are the outward expression of energies too subtle to perceive directly. More broadly stated, it is simply an emotional response to the natural world. Although I was educated in the western fine art tradition, I never felt at home with the pursuit of purely formal goals as espoused by the modern and post-modern schools. I had never been able to find a means to render my feelings about the 'thus-ness' of the world around me - and nor was this considered a suitable goal. It was not until coming to Japan and beginning a formal study of sumi-e, that I was able to transform the insight and understanding from other areas of my life into my work. This is part of the long tradition of this medium in China and Japan, where both painting and calligraphy are valued as revealing the artist's character as well as their technical skill. I continually draw inspiration from the works of the past, particularly from artists such as Hasegawa Tohaku and Kaiho Yusho as well as from the natural world around me.
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Cloud Mountain 2
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Mountain 1
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Mountain 3
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Copyright 1999-2007 D.L.Keur
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