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Artist Statement

After 30 years of traditional, expressive figurative painting, I wanted a change. With much trial and error, I found a passion for collage assemblage, and have been working in this medium for about 15 years. At first glance, these two art forms seem dramatically different. My studio practice has taught me, however, that painting has served as a strong background for making this change, and in many ways, has truly informed my assemblage and collage work. Both disciplines require the need to understand and balance space, color, texture, composition, focal point, narrative, and mood in every piece one does. The materials and techniques differ, but the decision making is largely the same.

Generally, paint is a planned component in much of my multimedia work. After or during construction of a piece, I paint as needed to change value, add or change color and emphasis, create or strengthen visual flow, vary texture or other- wise enhance my imagery much as I would do in a painting. My painting background now frees me to have fun exploring unusual materials, and challenge myself to find new visual solutions.

www.sherrytrachtman.com