Katherine Lubar
www.katlubar.com
@katherinelubar
Statement:
Light, Foliage, Steps is based on my own front steps, which I have seen a lot of, in recent times. The steps remain the same, but now that there is more freedom to leave home, they take on a different meaning, steps leading to the outside world, to many potential adventures and experiences, to friends and to the studio. When stuck at home – and not just from the pandemic, as I was housebound for 2 years previously due to a back problem – they took on a more ominous, oppressive quality.
They represented a barrier to the outside world, but also in the form of protection, as the outside world seemed to be a dangerous place.
Climbing Shadow is based on some steps I saw on a very hot day, with bright sunlight falling onto a set of steps that led up to a main street. The metaphor of steps leading up to somewhere brighter and better (stairway to heaven) is a common trope in our culture, upward always seeming better than downward. Climbing to success or to spiritual heights is seen as an admirable goal. And post-pandemic, a climb up to the outside world again, to sunlight and freedom is on all our minds.
My work is focused on light and shadow and the way this interacts with human-made, built environments. I use colour to describe the sensation of light and to construct tension between positive and negative space, hovering on the edge of abstraction and representation.
www.katlubar.com
@katherinelubar
Statement:
Light, Foliage, Steps is based on my own front steps, which I have seen a lot of, in recent times. The steps remain the same, but now that there is more freedom to leave home, they take on a different meaning, steps leading to the outside world, to many potential adventures and experiences, to friends and to the studio. When stuck at home – and not just from the pandemic, as I was housebound for 2 years previously due to a back problem – they took on a more ominous, oppressive quality.
They represented a barrier to the outside world, but also in the form of protection, as the outside world seemed to be a dangerous place.
Climbing Shadow is based on some steps I saw on a very hot day, with bright sunlight falling onto a set of steps that led up to a main street. The metaphor of steps leading up to somewhere brighter and better (stairway to heaven) is a common trope in our culture, upward always seeming better than downward. Climbing to success or to spiritual heights is seen as an admirable goal. And post-pandemic, a climb up to the outside world again, to sunlight and freedom is on all our minds.
My work is focused on light and shadow and the way this interacts with human-made, built environments. I use colour to describe the sensation of light and to construct tension between positive and negative space, hovering on the edge of abstraction and representation.
Light, Foliage, Steps
110.5 x 80cm Acrylic on canvas 2021 |
Climbing Shadow
59 x 60cm Acrylic on canvas 2021 |