|
No. 629 - Golden Section CCXLI - Pastel (1987) |
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
|
 |
No. 128 - Paros V - Oil and Encaustic on Wood (1992) |
| |
| |
|
|
No. 883 - Quantum XXVII - Pastel on Paper (1995) |
| |
|
|
No. 176 - Casein on Wood (1999) |
|
|
|
No. 263 - Construction - Encaustic on Wood (2005) |
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
No. 311 - Construction - Encaustic on Wood (2007) |
| |
|
|
|
Born and educated in Switzerland, I have been living and working in the United States since 1961. My work has been shown in New York, Europe and Asia in numerous solo and group exhibitions, and is represented in major corporate, museum and private collections.I believe that the more universal, the more primal the thought, the more powerfully it will speak to the harmony within each human being. To me, painting is a spiritual pursuit—a means to self-knowledge not much different from actively engaging in a spiritual exercise or a monastic way of life. |
| |
| |
|
No. 92 - Acrylic on Canvas (1985) |
| |
For over twenty-five years, my work has explored philosophical geometry, including the Fibonacci sequence, the Pythagorean Theorem and, most importantly, the Golden Mean proportion. The GM proportion is a unique ratio preferred by nature as the most advantageous geometry for growth and energy conservation. |
| |
|
No. 133 - Paros VI - Oil and Casein on Wood (1993) |
| |
It never ceases to amaze me that this geometric marvel and its mathematical equivalent—the Fibonacci numbers—are found in nature from the DNA spiral to growth patterns in flora and fauna, including the proportions of the human body. |
|
| |
The GM proportion simultaneously provides me with a substructure—the GM rectangle and the squares, arcs and circles it generates—and with infinite possibilities. As a matter of fact, I don’t recall ever starting a painting without some geometric configuration—a simple division, a square, a circle or a grid. The dividing and ordering of the support—be it canvas or paper—gives me a place to stand, so to speak, a scaffold from which to work, watching what wants to express itself. |
| |
| |
Rather than being limiting, the GM proportion by its very nature is regenerative. By adding or subtracting a square to the length of the GM rectangle, a new GM is created. It is this quality that invites endless play and creation. Since we, as human beings, resonate with the GM proportion, I feel a sense of freedom when I begin to paint or draw, obliterating lines, creating movement from depth to nearness, and giving expression to emotions, energy, or ideas. |
|
| |
My artistic work has always been closely aligned with my quest for the nature of reality. If there is one common thread in my work, it has to do with a desire to preserve and symbolize the knowledge of the ancients and to create order and harmony in a world of discord. I have always agreed with Emerson's observation from Nature about the quest. He said, "Undoubtedly we have no questions to ask which are unanswerable. We must trust the perfection of the creation so far as to believe that whatever curiosity the order of things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can satisfy." |
| |
|
No. 314 - Construction - Encaustic on Wood (2007) |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
No. 654 - Golden Section CCLXVI - Casein on Paper (1987) |
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
No. 129 - Pithagorio II - Oil on Wood (1992) |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
|
No. 890 - Quantum XXIX - Pastel on Paper (1995)
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
No. 265 - Construction - Encaustic on Wood (2005) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
No. 315 - Construction - Encaustic on Wood (2008) |
|
I have a sense that my life in art has always started with that trust and been concerned, ultimately, with asking questions and proposing, by means of artistic expression, momentary answers about the order of things. |
| |
Astrid Fitzgerald |
| |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
