Rebecca Kinkead

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Lineage/Microscopy (2004)

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The compelling beauty and stunning complexity of the microscopic image is simultaneously alien and remarkably reminiscent of the larger natural world. Algae and virus become lichen, flower and vivid night sky. Chromosome becomes topography and geology.

These paintings developed following a fellowship in Ireland at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, in Ballycastle, County Mayo. Northwest Ireland is rich in archaeological sites: standing stones, stone circles and megalithic tombs mark five thousand years of civilization.

Considering primitive aspects of human existence led to primordial scientific exploration. Elemental origins came into focus.

Lineage pieces are abstractions of the human chromosome. They are observations on our common genetic make-up, structures that define and connect us.

Microscopy pieces are both abstractions and realistic interpretations of microscopic organic material: algae, viruses, and bacteria that have aided and hindered human development.

Pieces are not identified with their scientific origins so they can be viewed as works of art that embrace the wonder and mystery of natural forms.

Dock Series/Field Series (2002-2003)

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My work is a series of responses to geological time scales. The imagery references many aspects of primitive development, delicately balanced, often posied for extinction. I try to create a sense of suspension in each piece, as if the viewer were witnessing a moment of transition, isolated in time and space, removed from the elements of its creation

The paintings develop slowly and often begin as a collection of drawings. I begin covering up imagery, sanding and scraping the piece, while working towards a language of minimalism. I try to capture a sense of fragility in each piece, a sense of a determining moment in the history of one's existence.

Field Series #8, 2003, acrylic and mixed media on panel, 48" x 96"

© 2006 Rebecca Kinkead