Artwork in the Nancy Toomey Fine Art Beauty in Lockdown Catalogue
CAROLE SILVERSTEIN, these languages of reverence, 2018
Acrylic Ink on Mylar, 48 x 36 Inches
$12,500
In this painting by Los Angeles based Carole Silverstein, a multiplicity of cultural ornamentations coalesce and collide to weave shifting perspectives and ambiguous spatial perceptions. Star interlaces and diamond labyrinth patterns derive from such sources as Leonardo Da Vinci, Islam, Morocco, Persia, and then within the Japanese isometric perspective known as blown-away roof style, taken from a 12th century handscroll of The Tale of Genji. While exploring the symbolism of the ornamentation and the spatial play, she seeks to elevate the feminine and a connection to the divine… More »
Thoughts on Lockdown
In response to the enormity of the pandemic and the rise of fascism in this country I am turning to my best practices to keep me healthy–running, yoga, meditation, art-making. My solo show in Santa Monica closed 2 weeks early, and though the coming down of a show always marks a transition and reflection into what’s next, this time has been more fraught, heavy & potent. Artists always work in this space of not-knowing & uncertainty, there’s freedom in that. But our current circumstances and what got us here is way beyond. I turned to making some small colored pencil and watercolor/salt drawings of flowers as a response to all the darkness (I had originally made a few as thank you cards to collectors and gallerists). I decided to consider it an “amuse-bouche” to clear the palette. Since the first weeks I have had such a need to connect to the beauty of the natural world – my daily walks/runs in the neighborhood have been crucial to my well being and specifically seeing the growth of gardens, trees, flowers in the neighborhood. Really seeing the life force of Spring in full display doing its thing, showing its long game power. This gives me a sense of cycles, a larger perspective of time, a ray of hope from Mother Earth. I started out loving and needing to observe a particular candy striped Dutch tulip (from 17th C. prints and Tulip mania) combined with the wildness and unpredictable beauty of the chaotic staining watercolor. I’ve continued and moved into doing lotuses (from Chinese and Indian textiles). I’ve also moved back into working on my paintings. We shall see what transpires…
CAROLE SILVERSTEIN, Dutch Tulip 1, 2020
Colored Pencil, Watercolor, Salt on Paper, 9 x 6 Inches
Exhibition at Nancy Toomey Fine Art
our mingling spirits – April 3 to May 18, 2019
