Jerry Walden
Statement
Artist Statement
Deconstructing Jerry
In 2006, I set about to paint over earlier paintings gathering dust in my studio that had not stood the test of time. Covering up my embarrassment, I started over not by simply rolling white paint but by applying geometric shapes and stripes of color arbitrarily and malleably with a pallet knife, ridding the new work of any reference to anything outside of itself. Shapes and colors in contrasting directions and patterns gave the old paintings new meaning, as each arrived at a new self-sufficiency. Out of this process of deconstructing my earlier work developed a new direction of thought and gave rise to a new series of paintings.
Reconstructing Deconstructing Jerry
This process of repainting old work soon resulted in a reconstruction of the deconstruction. In other words, I applied the same process on new rather than used canvas. The resulting work minimizes shapes and patterns in favor of direction and emphasizing color in diagonal stripes. I begin by applying one inch wide masking tape in diagonal lines that fan out over the surface of the painting. Each painting is completed without looking at it as a whole, that is, half is painted with randomly selected color while the other half is masked with tape, which is repeated to paint the remaining stripes of unpainted canvas stripes. It isn’t until all of the tape has been removed that I can see the entire surface of the painting and determine what can be done to make it into a painting. After observation and extended thought I can adjust where stripes need repainting with color chosen critically. For some paintings, this resolution, this Gestalt, is fairly fast, and for some it takes a little longer.
My father once told me, “Son, if you live long enough, you’ll get old.” Now, retired from the distraction of employment and living in bonus time health-wise, painting has the importance it first had, but free of the driven purpose. I no longer have anything to prove. Painting is finally free.
Jerry Walden 4/4/11