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Optical Illusion
and Fluorescent Brightness
Art & essay by Suzan BATU
Suzan Batu is one of artists with the Summer Group exhibition
at the Jeffery Coploff
Art Gallery in Manhattan. The exhibiton will be
open until September 2002.
In my work I explore the possibilities of abstract art as a medium
through which to convey meaning - to create a bridge between
the cultural and the personal. My colors and shapes relate
to experiences ranging from the intensely personal to
shared experiences. I try to explore the tension between
opulence and austerity, between expressiveness and restraint
between the organic and the decorative.
I use the swirling shapes of the Baroque as well
as elements of cartoons, and combine them with uplifting
colors to create paintings designed to entice, to create
optimism, to instill confidence and security in order
to make it possible for the viewer to experience a moment
of joy. The arabesques, my use of which I trace back to
the examples of Arabic calligraphy I had been exposed
to throughout my childhood in Turkey bind together the
old and new, East and West. The forms and shapes are at
once austere, hard-edged but also delicate and humorous.
The hand of the artist is invisible, but the paintings
have a subtly handcrafted feel: every curve and shape
lovingly painted and repainted dozens of times, covered
with dozens of thin coats of acrylic paint.
The optical illusion
and the fluorescent brightness of the colors, combined
with pulsating shapes are an attempt, as vain as it may
seem, to delay for the viewer the inevitable glance into
the void - to give him/her the illusion of immortality
for an instance longer.
My
work has gone through many changes over the years. One
thing, though, remains constant: at its core it is very
much about living in N.Y. When I first came here my work
became hard-edged, geometric, bright. It reflected the
impressions the city had made on me upon arriving here:
its architecture, its relentless energy. As time went
by different aspects of this place began revealing themselves
to me. I
stopped seeing New York City as a monolithic dreamscape,
instead, its multifaceted character began infusing my
work. I started
using many different materials like plastics and glitter.
I made paintings in different styles of abstraction and
displayed them all salon style, each piece vying with
the other for the viewer's attention.
Lately
my work has changed again. It originates less in outside
stimuli and more in personal experience. I have internalized
what to me is the iconography of New York City and combined
it with my own. It is more about a life being lived day
to day in this exciting place than a discovery of the
place itself. My use of unduly intense color and the sharpness
of the shapes still has its origin in the energy of the
city.
I
don't know if living here in New York City for any length
of time would ever diminish its fascination for me. I
guess as someone who came from far away and started dreaming
about it long ago, it will always remain a source of inspiration
for me.
_
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Suzan
Batu's New Paintings
Light
Millennium, March-April 2000 Issue
Suzan
Batu - Biography
E-mail:
suzanbatu@aol.com
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