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about the artist
"transform something realistic - break the rules - color outside the lines" Angela's large-scale, non-representational paintings are intensely personal abstractions full of bravado and dimension. Her skillful use of light and shadow creates dynamic landscapes of multi-layered secret spaces and overt shapes. "When I was growing up I would sit for hours creating images that looked like nothing to everyone else, but to me were magnificent entities." For Angela, this process of cathartic, self-expression was inspired from an art teacher whose mantra was "immerse yourself in the work; clear your mind, don't think about what you're creating and don't think about a desired outcome." For Angela, this instruction to mentally release and let go of associations, logic and any sense of "right" process, allowed her an enormous sense of liberation that translated into an "automatic" process of creating. This sense of the "automatic" is revealed in her paintings, through the lack of visual reference points; there is no visual hierarchy. Form and color capture a language of gesture and mood inspired from within. The bold earthen-tones and raw shapes of cubes, circles and spirals reveal a meditative purity that are clearly relevant for Angela, but allow the viewer their own interpretation. When Angela does incorporate figures into her images, they are lithe and organic. The figures are small compared to their surrounding landscape, and capture the essence of the human form, without distracting detail. The dancing forms remind one of spirits who intuit rather than dominate their surrounding landscape. 
Before the age of 16, Angela was awarded the honor of hanging one
of her paintings in the Albright- Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, New York).
This award represented great encouragement for Angela at an early
age. "I continued taking studio art classes throughout college, and
was often instructed to paint still-life's where light source and
visual mimicking were critical. I hated it!" The transition in artistic
development occurred when Angela received an assignment to re-create
a painting that she responded to on some level. "We had to add our
personal style and vision to make the image meaningful for us. I painted
an abstract piece with bold colors and movement. All the while, my
instructor hovered over me telling me, 'Make it personal. It's too
raw. It's too angry, too sad, too bold.' I took my fingers and moved
the paint in a way that outlined two figures, my father and I. (at
that time doctors had given him nine weeks to live). My instructor
loved it. In that one painting, that one moment in time, I poured
out all of my frustrations, my pain, my strength, and then put down
my paintbrush, discarded my other paintings and stopped painting." 
Almost 6 years later, although Angela hadn't been painting, her father's
health was restored. "Perhaps karmically, my
partner Angelo re-introduced me to my love for art. He saw that
particular painting of my father and I, and understood its story. He
was relentless about encouraging me to paint again. Finally, one
night I bought my materials and stayed up painting until the
morning. I completed two paintings that night and haven't
stopped since. I gave the first painting to my father." The six-year hiatus for Angela was symbolic of how personal journeys are intense and draining. "I needed time to restore and now feel once again I'm in a climate conducive to that kind of exploration." |
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