April 2000
Jan Kirstein
"Through the storm, intuition leads. After the storm, reflection follows, recapturing the emerged path. The path leads to a place, yet continues beyond. A painting bridges the coming and going." These are the bold and insightful words of Jan Kirstein, our Artist of the Month.
To create art that explores various conscious states and memories, Jan uses the collage. She believes the units of collage act as metaphors — they actually become time capsules of past and present thoughts and memories.
By layering these "time capsules" in various patterns, Jan shows how ideas and memories transverse from the unconscious to the conscious mind.
Layers of paint, graphite, pastel and charcoal are weaved together to expose an ever-expanding horizon. Twilight mists, textured fragments, colored spirals and bold waves of color "collide, confront,tangle, dance." As with thoughts, these elements sometimes fuse and lead to higher forms. Other times, they simply dissolve and fall away.
Jan does not find the physical act of tearing and assembling always necessary in her work. Believing the art form has become part of her internal creative process, Kirstein cites collage as "an ever present metaphor and psychic structure" for her creative process
For more information about the artist or to inquire about purchasing artwork, please write to: Jan Kirstein
email: JKirstei@franklin.K12.KY.US
