October
2009
Gary Polonsky
Artist's
Statement
I was born and raised in Los Angeles. My higher education included two years at Santa Monica City College. That led to a graduate degree from the Art Center College of Design (then in LA, now in Pasadena).
An early interest in drawing and model making led to my first serious attempts at painting. With Jackson Pollock as my guide, and a very large jar of Liquitex gloss medium, I began to experiment (play really), with the rich, bright flowing colors.
Abstract expressionism, impressionism, what I call soft focus photo realism, all have lead to the botanical series, which truly incorporates all of the above mentioned styles, but in a unique three dimensional experience for the viewer, and especially for the artist.
I've been associated with many galleries here in Southern California and the
San Francisco area. I'm currently a member of TAG, The Artist's Gallery, in
Santa Monica.
http://www.tagtheartistsgallery.com/index.php
The botanical series is a progression of experiments with acrylic media, and alternative surface materials.
Hoping to develop a 3rd dimension to my work, I wanted to go beyond the traditional
four sided, stretched flat canvas. I considered various materials; wood, paper,
canvas, clay, paper-mache, each offered some good characteristics, but were still
unworkable for what I had in mind (even though that wasn't perfectly clear at
that point).
It quickly became apparent that wire mesh offered the best combination of characteristics; tensile strength, permanence, flexibility, and light weight. Add to this the structural backbone of common household coat hangers, and I was able to fashion a very unique shape, with a pliable surface, and ready to paint.
