Allison Rogers

(Providence, Rhode Island)

A series of 4 abstract paintings, each in their own quadrants. On the top left is a very warm piece. It includes a series of strokes in a multitude of colors; white, tan, lavender, purple, mustard, and a warm tone of gray. To its right is another heated, but slightly cooler, painting of several marks. Most of the left side is blocked out in a very cool gray, almost a shade of blue. There are navy blots above it, and a very deep forest green covers the bottom half of the canvas. In complete juxtaposition, there is a neon yellow vertical stripe, some yellow from the previous piece, and a mixture of bright yellow and olive green to the right. It almost feels to me like walking through a neighborhood outside of the city, with its muted colors on the left side representing the buildings, and the warm yellow and greens like a park. On the bottom left is a picture with an entirely different feel. It is almost entirely dark, with deep shades of red, purple, green, and yellow encompassing the entire piece. There are two strokes of lightness, though: one beige rectangle, and one light blue stroke. Finally, to its right, is a painting made up of midtones. There are streaks of mustard, pale pink, baby blue, and dark cyan. This piece feels the most inviting to me, with its gentle colors allowing you to step foot into the piece and nestle in.

I try to approach each new painting free from preconception, adapting to the shifts and changes as the piece takes form, building layers, staying flexible and open to the challenges each painting presents. I spent so long trying to find my artistic voice; I finally found it when I learned to listen. And that’s something that I’m still learning how to do—listen to the painting, take risks, and embrace mistakes. Because “mistakes” are at the core of some of my favorites pieces. 

In this body of work, I dive into the realm of color, texture, mark-making, and composition, exploring the relationship between spontaneity and structure, both in practice and in outcome. I hope to create a sense of harmony across pieces, and completeness as a whole, while drawing viewers into the smaller details that each individual work has to offer.

Vertically lined up are two pieces. The first is a very simplistic piece with its brush strokes. Two thick vertical bars are the main subject of this piece. The left half is covered in a light blue, and the right in a cream, off-white color. There are a few bits and pieces of other colors occasionally in these areas; the blue half has tan, green, and pink marks, while the cream half has blue, red, and maroon streaks. It looks to me almost like a representation of a bird’s eye view of the beach. The second piece is much more chaotic. A brown canvas is splashed and streaked with marks of red and blue. Then it is covered up with large, unevenly cut pieces of fabric of magnificent rust, white, yellow, black, and blue.

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