The works presented in this show are a meditation on what it means—and how it means—to bring an artwork to completion. I often wonder how artists can arrive at that mysterious state of certainty when they intuit, without words or explanation, that something is complete, or at times even ‘perfect’. Technical words such as resolved, unfinished or overworked can serve as useful phrases for grasping and articulating complex visual relationships. But these descriptors fail to express the yearning and mystery brimming beneath an artist’s resolve to reach a state of visual, emotional and spiritual state of satisfaction.
An unbearable heaviness clings to the souls of artists engulfed in creative pursuit. A project once commenced is burdened with the risk of failure and irrelevance. Is it really worth pouring down hours of emotional and physical labour to feed the dreams of an artwork yet unborn? Alongside the unbearable heaviness described above is an equally immense sense of wonder, a sort of joy and delight that flows out from the depths of one’s being. There is an ontological thrill that rises up from one’s core when watching a piece of art grow and unfold before one’s eyes. Like some sort of miracle, what was non-existent just a few seconds ago, now begins to emerge from a blank canvas; led and guided by the hands, eyes and intuition of the maker.
As a marked departure from the figurative styles of previous works, I present in this exhibition a new series of abstractions. Telos (2022) was the first piece produced for this show. Without the familiar structures of figuration and realism, abstraction forced me into a wordless terrain devoid of language or pictorial resolution. It was both fascinating and frustrating to rely solely on raw visual form—tonality, rhythm, texture and flow. It took weeks before I was able to reach a state of visual rest and resolution—It is done and now I can move on.
One to Thirty Five (2022) are a series of thirty five abstract drawings drawn with an increasing number of strokes, beginning with one stroke for the first drawing and thirty-five for the last. As a calligraphic exploration of mark making that signifies my current age, this new body of work will be repeated and increased with an additional page of drawing per year, until the year of my death. The Self (2017, 2022) is an iteration of an earlier durational endurance-based self-portrait. Executed in 24 hours, this portrait was commenced at sunrise, and then erased and sandpapered twenty-four hours later. This work reflects on the transience of life and the immortality of the soul that remains beyond death and physical erasure.
Finally, The Earth Melts Away (2022) a semi-expressionist drawing of two figures in a tangle of arms and legs fighting/wrestling/embracing/resting. Herein lies a certain tension specific to my own practice and temperament, a tension between control and surrender. As a head-strong choleric eager to get what I want through grit and persistence, I often tackle projects and ambitions headfirst. But I had a profound realisation when I discovered that the root word behind the words Resolve and Resolution lies not in the force of will. Rather, these words come from the Latin solvere “to loose, release, unyoke; set free”. So perhaps the lesson for me, is to rely less on sheer force, but instead embrace those areas beyond my immediate grasp and understanding. Maybe only then will I truly find the rest and dormition that I long for.
Kristone Capistrano
May 9, 2022
KRISTONE CAPISTRANO 