Allegra Sustar
Montgomery, AL (USA)
Montgomery, AL (USA)
As an artist, I am more interested in how life can be portrayed through the application of paint and less interested in realism. I find there is a constant pull within myself between my tendency towards abstraction and the challenge I find in representational painting. Each of these works began with an original photograph. With these paintings, or drawings, I’ve found that there is more to them than mere duplication of source material. They began to take on a separate identity, a more abstracted form of reality. This transformation becomes even more apparent depending on the closeness to or distance from the work. The gestural, even chaotic brushstrokes build the flesh of the painting to create an alternate version of the person and, there fore, of reality.
While these works fall into the category of portraiture they are more than mere representations of the people depicted. For me, the process of painting is the most important aspect of this work and my highly visible brushwork allows the viewer to see this process, to see where I’ve been on the canvas, within the finish piece. Lighting of the subject plays an important part in each of these works. For example, warm indoor light will give the flesh a very different appearance than outdoor or fluorescent lighting. Composition is another important aspect of this work. The cropping and enlargement of the figure not only exaggerates the figure but brings attention to certain aspects of as well. It is inevitable that the subject of a portrait will become victim to the viewers gaze. Some of my subjects meet the gaze, even challenge it, while others are completely unaware that anyone is watching them. Regardless of the gaze of the subject, I wanted these images to confront the viewer and give them sense of forced intimacy which is my reasoning for the size and the subject’s close proximity to the front picture plan. By dividing up the body, by isolating it from its parts, I am ultimately attempting to convey that we are more than just our body parts.
While these works fall into the category of portraiture they are more than mere representations of the people depicted. For me, the process of painting is the most important aspect of this work and my highly visible brushwork allows the viewer to see this process, to see where I’ve been on the canvas, within the finish piece. Lighting of the subject plays an important part in each of these works. For example, warm indoor light will give the flesh a very different appearance than outdoor or fluorescent lighting. Composition is another important aspect of this work. The cropping and enlargement of the figure not only exaggerates the figure but brings attention to certain aspects of as well. It is inevitable that the subject of a portrait will become victim to the viewers gaze. Some of my subjects meet the gaze, even challenge it, while others are completely unaware that anyone is watching them. Regardless of the gaze of the subject, I wanted these images to confront the viewer and give them sense of forced intimacy which is my reasoning for the size and the subject’s close proximity to the front picture plan. By dividing up the body, by isolating it from its parts, I am ultimately attempting to convey that we are more than just our body parts.
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