STATEMENT
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STEPHEN KEKULE
A WORD ABOUT THE PORTFOLIOS
The Landscape paintings are explorations into the built environment. I am fascinated by architecture and its constructs. Variety seems endless, even among members of a similar genre. Some examples of our buildings are bold in their entirety, standing apart from their surroundings and demanding whole attention be given to their design. But by far most are simple fabrications providing place and shelter, and by their commonality become lost in ubiquity. Yet on occasion even these modest structures may offer a gem of visual interest. When viewed from just a certain perspective or when a shadow falls just right, any building may seem quite unique in that moment. And so the paintings are not of the structure, isolated and static, but of the built envoronment and its context within the fluidity of time and happenstance.
The Couple is an on-going series where within the landscape of the built environment is placed a man-woman pair. What comes from this is a dynamic interplay between the male-female aspects of the human being. The yin-yang. The anima-animus. The duality of one.
The Figure works are personal efforts. Each model presents certain qualities and circumstances that provoke inquiry into the forces at play. By insinuating myself into the realm of the subject I am confronted by its prevailing conditions. As a result, specific issues come to mind for thoughtful deliberation.