Addison Wolff

Artist Statement

I humorously embrace the denunciation of Color Field painters as mere aesthetes in their shifting of layers of color to achieve “transcendental” depth. I exploit the fiction of mystical depth through the amalgamation of faux-painting techniques in layering diaphanous films of acrylic color to achieve a sense of dimensionality. Playing with the fabricated phenomenon of depth described by the appealing shifting of color and the flatness of the piece, I look to explore the dichotomies between decorative art and fine arts, and two- and three-dimensionality.

Utilizing faux-painting techniques, gained from working for an interior designer, I produce mark making that hides the hand of the artist to reinforce the appeal and deception of the work. Beauty is found in the work through its saccharine coloration, smooth surfaces, and feathery layers. The illusion of depth is created through the accumulation of radiant fields of color, as I intuitively respond to the preceding layers. While the materiality of the paint enables the discrete recording of the technique used for each layer (i.e. combing, sponging, ragging, sanding).  The modulation of non-textural color planes creates the illusion of three-dimensionality, while retaining the inherit flatness of the work.

Whether it is the intentions of decorative painters in replicating objects or Color Field painters in their quest to embed their work with transcendental qualities, these painters seek to create an appealing fiction within their works. The perception of depth and dimensionality in my work, reinforced by using faux-painting techniques, plays with the fabrication of reality in art while producing an alluring work.

B.S. in Architecture, Ball State University, 2010

Art Bank Gallery

811 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204