38 NEW PAINTINGS 2013-14 letn go of anything familiar is a challenge...for me the LETTING GO had to do with the struggle to create work that wasnt influenced by the white european masters I upload over 2 semester of Art History and countless classroom lectures and reproductions. Years later I happened 2 be in a show with Danny Simmons we stayed in touch and I was eventually able to pick his brain on Abstraction...his response sent me on a journey of discovery that continues to today...man if you wanna get into Abstraction check out African and Indigenous People they were Abstracting the human form before Europe was invented. The 1st series I painted after 6 months of reading and drinkn in the paintns of Bearden n Lawrence Lam n others, was my luv makn series they were compositions of elongated bodies with African mask set against African textiles...I love the way the foreground and background traded places in a dance unlike the 3 part composition of my College training; foreground midground background but they still felt too geometric, too tight. At a showing at the Brooklyn Moon early 2ks Pierre Bennu a fellow Artist came by to take in the show...he remarked...this reminds me of some of Danny Simmons stuff. He was right Dannys work was definitely some of the Art I was drinkn in tryna get a grip on this Abstract Expressionism thing. Brodah Pierre left me wid a jewel...theyre good but theyre tight you gotta loosen up. Hell yes my first react was like who this Kat think he is talkn to me like that, but he was right...they were tight...I was close but i wasnt letting go...I was still fightn the paint instead of allowing it to show me the way. I continued to work on letting go...continued the study of African Art. Kimberly Kimabe Becoat my comrade and an amazing Painter help me knock down the final barrier when she allowed me to hang in her studio and watch her paint...we exchange studio visits and talkd shop...she turned me on to the African Master Norman Lewis my head is still spinning. LETTING GO is the journey to date. Iyaba Ibo Mandingo
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 02:09:28 +0000
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