April Artist of the Month – Constance Pappalardo

Artist Statement
 
It is interesting that right now, I am working out of two places. I have two separate approaches to painting and I move from one to the other like I would move between two adjoining rooms.  I think that one would be able to recognize “me” in both but only with some sincere effort. At a glance, I seem to be two very different people.
 
One body of work is all color and form and very romantic and idealistic in spirit. This is the most intuitive of the two. Here, I work from an unconscious source and the viewer experiences the piece, interprets the painting from their imagination. These pieces consist of a horizontal composition and since the horizon line is a given, are generally interpreted as landscapes. These are places created, escape routes I paint for myself as well as the viewer.
 
Then there is the vertical work, which began in color and has now moved into black & white work. Rotating the canvas from horizontal to vertical totally changed the game for me. It was no longer about what it looked like, or reminded one of but rather, all about emotion, composition, color  and whatever magic occurs when a painting begins to speak for itself out of total , unapologetic abstraction. The work became more deliberate, but not in the sense that I had it all sketched out but more from an intention to face up to my demons, rather than escape from them. Some of the black & white verticals were born out of the genius of others, such as Mozart and Bach. I have recently started the Shout Box series which incorporates the starker elements of the vertical work with the more romantic tones of personal writing and shared memory.
 
It is hard to say whether the wall between these two rooms will ever be torn down but for now, I do enjoy the journey from one chamber to the other.
 
 
Constance Pappalardo

WWW.CONSTANCEPAPPALARDO.COM