Tracy West

Although my personal art vocabulary was initially rooted in the traditions of American Abstract Expressionism in the style of Mark Rothko or Barnett Newman, my years as a contractor designing and building houses leads me to a fascination with the character and integrity of different materials and new forms of material-based expression. The chemical relationship that materials form with one another completely captivates me, so I set up situations where the materials can interact. The process can be enlightening and wonderful….or sometimes disastrous and dangerous. I once, inadvertently, made mustard gas!

I often feel that I am negotiating compatibility with the materials, frequently pushing the limits of what they ordinarily are expected to do. Sometimes I win, sometimes they win. It is a metaphor for life dealing with integrity, character, will and resilience. There is also a strong spiritual component in the intention of my art that comes through in the poetic simplicity of the design of each piece. I have been greatly influenced by the contemplative minimalist aesthetic of the art and craft of Japan.

The physical construction of the work is complex. I “draw” the initial composition of a piece with plaster that I apply to wood panel. In some pieces, I embed fiber, sand, sawdust, or other “found” materials in the plaster to build up the texture and the character of the work. I apply layers of stain, dyes and ground pigments to the plaster surface, followed by layers of metal leaf or metal compounds. Through a series of chemical processes, I age and patinate the layers of materials.