Teetering between urban and natural subjects I make exploratory paintings and drawings working directly and urgently in response to my immediate environment. My approach involves “moment-to-moment” extrapolation governed by intuitive leaps of scale, color and wayward geometry. Contrasts and cross-fertilizations unfold and are cumulative, non-linear, free flowing and interpretive. Space becomes an ambiguous and malleable substance and I delight in its manipulation as I meander acrobatically in a kind of gymnasium of convoluted mark making and image collision. All along the way, I engage the known as well as the unknown in unforeseen ways.

For me, drawing and painting parallel the act of seeing and are the most direct links to private time with the physical world. Despite the urgency of my process, as I work, time still slows down. My work becomes a record of this exploration and a reflection of my inherent energy and reason for living.

Josette Urso