This series of small paintings was the first produced in a new approach to making that I am applying to flat forms on linen and textiles. For these works, I asked various artists that I know for their old, unwanted paintings. Rather than beginning an artwork with clean, fresh materials, I wanted to work with used surfaces infused with the visual decisions of other, anonymous, artists.
For each of the 12 square pieces, I followed the same protocol. I approached these objects by taking them apart, sanding the acrylic and oil paint that had accumulated over time, until the bare canvas was partially visible and the strata of accumulated materials made abstract forms appear in the picture plane.
I then intervened by spilling diluted quantities of paint on the surface, to dialogue with the found forms. The paint and pigments used were leftover from previous projects, found on the street, and recuperated from waste management centers, rather than store-bought.
