Donna Reibslager 

 

This body of work was based on a period of time (1974-1982), when Reibslager lived in a small Mexican border town in the Sonora Desert. Viewing the desert that surrounded her as parched, isolating and unforgiving, it became a metaphor for her experience there, that serves as the point of reference from which these paintings were generated. Perhaps they may be seen as abstracted landscapes, or as emotional statements, but they are, in fact, open to the viewer's interpretation.

“I prefer to work in an abstract format.   Always intrigued by the way a change in a shape, or area of color, alters the area surrounding it, or, in fact, the entire composition. An abstract painting is like a jigsaw puzzle, without the finished image on the box to refer to. Elements are added, removed, shifted, or reworked, until all the pieces fit, & the comp-osition stands on it's own. I paint with oils because their longer drying time makes them more fluid, & because they puddle up like soft butter on my brush, & glisten with light.”

“For me, painting is a seismic record, a narrative of color & form. Like a seismograph, it reflects the unique impulses sent from the brain to the brush in hand. The narrative is the artist's voice, the language that is read through the markings made on canvas.” Reibslager says. “For me, the measure of a successful piece of art lies in its ability to present a mirror to the viewer, drawing from them a response that is unique to their perceptions, emotions, or beliefs. It must be capable of fully engaging the viewer, such that, if only momentarily, their thought process is suspended, and they are drawn in to the image completely.”