Patty Cateura
Statement
Though deceptively simple, my color field paintings question how we experience and relate to nature in an increasingly urbanized world. Floating and fragmented vignettes allude to city life, architecture and technology. Yet nature prevails in hills, rivers, trees and pure color fields. Using both abstraction and realism, man-made objects are playfully juxtaposed to nature and to the infinite expanse of monochromatic space. My paintings are influenced in part by the stark linear elegance of minimalist painting and the visual serenity of Asian art. A resulting tranquility is offset by a strategic, almost cartoonish figuration and a pop color field sensibility. By combining these aspects, I aim to suggest the power of nature’s color, simplicity and vibrancy as an arresting visual pause within the whirl of our increasingly technological lives.