Elizabeth Magness / New Works

Artspace Member Spotlight Exhibition

April 26 - May 18, 2024
Elisabeth Flynn-Chapman Gallery

Painting

Artist Statement
My work is intentionally uplifting, but it must be with an earned joy, a hard won happiness. It reflects a personal journey that must return to optimism, though frequently difficult. Each work is a forged consonance amidst imperfection.

I want to swim in color and live in its expanse. From the first paint mixing, the painting develops as a plan immediately overtaken by a meditative process of discovery filled with surprises. When I mix colors, I like to reuse the same color base from one section and keep adding to it and remixing the paint. In this way, the colors on the canvas stay related and connected but intentionally not exact. With Rembrant and the Old Masters in mind, I gradually build up thin layers of pigmented glaze to create a glowing depth.

I take cracks in a sidewalk or the lines of pollen that remain after a heavy spring rain and reimagine them as ways to divide space on the canvas and create an emotional landscape. I strive to find balance without symmetry.

Biography:
Elizabeth Magness holds a BA from Columbia University where she studied painting, printmaking, photography and art history. She additionally has studied painting and drawing at Watkins College of Art in Nashville, TN and at the VMFA Studio School in Richmond, VA. Elizabeth loves travel, cooking and edible gardening. She resides and works in Richmond, VA.

Website: elizabethmagness.com
Instagram: @Elizabeth.Magness