Artist Statement
Background
Visual and performing arts are the common languages prevalent among many cultures. These, coupled with my reflections and family influences, birthed my painting series "From Stories of My America".
 From the year 2000, I visually documented the essence of my cultures, culminating in a three year traveling exhibition of which the signature piece, Give Those Yeast Rolls Time to Rise, was directly related to my familial experiences. These works were representative of not only my life story, but the stories in the lives of people across the country and beyond. No ambiguity in my intent or subject. Because of its semblances the exhibition became the catalyst for the The High Museum workshop I conducted where I was asked to compare my work to that of the Harlem Renaissance artist, Jacob Lawrence. The "Stories of My America" exhibition premiered at Atlanta's Hammonds House Museum in 2002, and was exhibited in eight museums and fine art galleries across the south; the Historic Beach Institute in Savannah, The Rosa Parks Museum, in Montgomery, Penn Center in St. Helena Island, and Fine Arts Academy, Shreveport, LA among them. Gullah Rhythms was displayed in the Kente' Exhibition at The Marco Carlos Museum. By the close of the exhibition tour I began my transition, fulfilling a career-long desire to move beyond the obvious and explore new depths in my work. Because I found the enigma of "abstraction" compelling albeit a bit overwhelming, I sought the expertise of two of the country's most stellar artists. Change, after an established thirty year career, has been challenging. The walk of faith I have taken, on this journey of transition into this new genre, has been daunting, but it has also been exciting and rewarding.
I admired the works of the 20th century Expressionist painters. I would occasionally explore the realm of nonrepresentational imagery in my earlier paintings. What I did not realize at the time, was that the language I needed to create this new body of work, was already embedded in the unique rhythmic strokes and style of my representational images.
The traditional definition of abstract art: Abstract art is purely non-objective and non-representational; it does not depict the reality of specific objects. At its inception, this genre's movement redefined what art is and began breaking all of the traditional rules of art. Artists began leaving out information, splattering paint, texturing the surfaces, using fewer strokes and bolder colors. I think that it is the "rule breaking" that initiated the "conceptual" or "Abstract" art movement, creating the contrasting perspectives and inspired illusions. I depend on the wonders of nature to supply many of the patterns and designs present in my work and believe that colors, shapes and depths have their own rhythm, weight and importance in art. We can often find the story in music. Representational art is like music with words and abstraction reminiscent of "Blues blue" and "magenta Jazz". They are often based on a theme that takes on different forms or a spiritual experience. In my incorporation of as many of our senses as possible into my paintings, many often speak of the ability to hear my paintings, the rhythms that glide across the canvas, resonating in the melodic tunes embodied within the intensity of the colors, the strength of the lines and boldness of the strokes. It is a common belief that ancient African cultures feared the elements, but in fact, African peoples trust in the continuity of nature, its unchanging cycle of seasons and the succession of day and night. The symbols used to communicate messages within the living world and serve as a link to our ancestors and the supernatural world are, to the untrained eye, abstract in nature. I believe that there are many ways to tell our history.
This genre -- and its "stories" is one of them – has been around for centuries. It is interesting that the viewing public, especially those familiar with my prior works, constantly try to find the stories and recognizable imagery in my abstract paintings. They are pleased if their imagination discovers a face or an animal of sorts. What I have deduced, as an abstract artist, is that it takes an entirely different perception and an openness of the imagination to understand the work and to appreciate it on a deeper level. Because many of the stories in my "Stories" series came from complete strangers, it was the space between the story given me and the way I received it that determined the degree of realism or abstraction I incorporated into the painting. With these conceptual works, the beginning and the end of the story are the same. These paintings take a journey through my soul on the way to the canvas, where they are cultivated and materialize. I am going to ask you as the viewer to take it all in, not necessarily expecting to understand the work immediately, but to take the time to appreciate the essence, created by the textures, lines, strokes, and compositions. And in interpreting the depth of my emotional awareness as an artist, we together just might reach a new level of understanding of this abstract genre. It is after all, the language that I am currently choosing to dare broach the world of the conceptual unknown.
Always Art,
Charlotte Riley-Webb
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