Dissipating (Veiled Surface, Iteration 4) (2018) Drawing by Kristopher Lionel

Kristopher Lionel. 'Dissipating (Veiled Surface, Iteration 4)'. 2022. Charcoal, Chalk and Oil on Paper Glued to Panel, Featuring Recessed Shapes Veneered in Paper. 43 x 80 x 3 inches.

'Dissipating (Veiled Surface, Iteration 4)' features recessed shapes, 2.5 inch and 1.5 inch deep, that are backed and edged with paper. These recessed shapes are set in the context of a purely expressive field of line, shape, tonality, and texture. For this piece, I used the sharp contrast of the circles in white against the dark, textural field of umber and black, to create visual movement that gives the impression dissipating ripples or scattering light. The recessed shapes in black serve to anchor or ground the movement.

'Dissipating (Veiled Surface, Iteration 4)' is informed by Abstract Expressionism. Free from objective subject, I used color, line, texture, and material for aesthetic reasons, similar to the way notes of music are played and arranged, to create visual spaces that are emotive and contemplative—internal, inward-looking spaces. 'Dissipating (Veiled Surface, Iteration 4)' is a large piece intended to envelop and immerse the viewer so that the experience of the work may provide respite, a space for quiet reflection.

For 'Dissipating (Veiled Surface, Iteration 4)' I used a heavy coat of glue while applying the sketch to panel. For some works in this series, like numbers 2, 5, & 15, I pressed out most of the glue in order to flatten the paper and prevent wrinkles. 'Dissipating (Veiled Surface, Iteration 4)', like 'Veiled Surface Iterations (numbers 3, 14,& 16)', I left a lot of glue under the paper so that, as it dried, it would actively cause wrinkling. I created this physical texture to achieve two things that seem at odds; to emphasize the material on which the image is painted (to give it a physical presence), and, through the shadows cast by the wrinkles, create an expressive sense of atmosphere, of energy and movement. This "real" movement interacts with the visual movement implied by the repetition of circular line to give the work vitality.

The works in the series 'Veiled Surface (Iterations)' are offshoots from a series called 'Surfaces'. The first step in making my Iterations is to veil (cover) a piece from 'Surfaces' by laying paper on it. I then use charcoal, chalk, or pencil to make a rubbing that lifts an impression (sketch) from the surface in which the bas-relief cuts and textures underneath are transferred to the paper. This is the first glimpse through the veil. I build upon these sketches with oils and other media, examining the limitless ways that mark, material application, and color, affect composition, mood, and meaning within the pieces. Two works that demonstrate how different the Iterations can be are: 'Each Reign Spills Into The Sea (Veiled Surface, Iteration 5)', which conveys an impression of the sea and the motion of waves, and 'Ascending The Thermals (Veiled Surface Iteration 15)', which evokes a sense of hot moving air.

Revisiting similar initial compositions through these iterations is a practice of seeing the familiar anew, of interpreting the shrouded glances beneath the veil into clear expressions that are uniquely independent of other works in the series. While working on this series, I remembered a quote from William Blake's poem "Auguries of Innocence" that speaks to the repetitive aspect of working through these Iterations, of looking intently on the known to find variance: "To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour." In this series, I've set myself to seeing through the veil both literally and figuratively. Looking upon the same thing over and again but always seeing something new is to pull back a veil that exists only in one's mind.

Related themes

AbstractAbstract ExpressionismAbstract ArtAbstract ArtworksAbstract Painting