new show, new statement

One of my new drawings and one of my most recent sculptures were chosen for this show at Green Rice Gallery in Charlotte, NC. (www.green-rice.com) Thats "Halo 2" on the left and "The One With The Hole In It" on the right. I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that they are both shiny. We're talking....metallic. Metallic gold paint on the left and metallic apple green powder coating on the right.

The opening reception is next Friday, Feb 5, so if you're around, stop and see the show as a part of the NoDa Gallery Crawl.

Since I had not thought much about an artist statement in a while, I had to prepare a new one to accompany these pieces for the show. I'm not such a fan of writing an artist statement, but if you are into that sort of thing, here you go:

Doug McAbee

Artist Statement for
“Halo” Drawing Series and “The One” Sculpture Series
2010


The commute to work. A conversation with my wife. The funny thing my three-year-old did this morning. This is where my ideas come from.

Bold colors, shiny surfaces and whimsical imagery continue to be essential elements in my drawings and sculptures. I am interested in the power of color and image in visual communication and how a viewer’s personal experiences will affect how they interpret those colors and images. My artwork often dips into serious or sinister subject matter, but always does so with a sense of humor, a shiny color and a spoonful of sugar.

My drawings consist of color ink on wood panels. These materials provide a direct and immediate mark making process. Images often develop organically and spontaneously and may continue to evolve until the final clear coat is applied.

My sculptures are made of hollow, hand-formed, welded steel. I grind and sand the surfaces to provide a seamless, clean presentation before powder coating the steel. This is a physically demanding and patience-testing process.


While each color and image used in a drawing or a sculpture holds a significant personal meaning to me, I am interested in how these meanings shift when unrelated images are fused together. I am even more interested in how these colors and images will almost always take on new meanings in the eyes of the viewer.