Artist Statement

Images of the Dead Sea scrolls. Pieces of decorated bark from Samoa. Old fragments of fabric at museums. I am drawn to these incomplete glimpses of history. I imagine how they were made and how they functioned in a world vastly different from ours. I have also been influenced by illustrated books that are given to me as gifts: on topics such as cells seen through a handmade microscope or Harry Smith’s exploration into indigenous string games including cat’s cradle. Other images and shapes I use come from my passion for art history and travel, especially to India, Italy, and Japan. Most often, I am interested in subtle layers of color, texture, and translucency within a structure. I work to carefully integrate abstract and architectural elements. No matter what the media, these combinations fascinate me.

I have learned over the years to reflect deeply before I begin a piece. I think about a work from the beginning through to its completion, creating multiple variations before I begin. I work in several mediums, handmade paper, oil pastel on linen, and collage. In all cases I am interested in making an emotional connection with the viewer. I want to create a conversation between the work and the viewer.

The handmade paper pieces are created by “pulling” a sheet of white paper off of a frame once it is dry and “painting” with paper pulp. I mix over twenty colors of pulp in varying degrees of translucency to apply as “paint.” Stencils are placed on top of the base sheet of paper. Then, each stencil is lifted to apply the paper pulp color. Each section has several layers of color applied. Many of my pieces are multiples, which can be compositionally changed by the viewer. For example, a piece can be made up of 20 triangles of the same size, but each triangle has a surface variation. The curator receives a “map” of how the piece should be organized. However, they can choose to place whichever triangle they wish into each “spot.” This creates a physical interaction between the work and the viewer.

The paintings on linen use paint stick and oil pastel. I then etch through the multiple layers of paint. These works are not stretched and are meant to be handled (again a physical connection with the viewer) or pinned to the wall. I see these works as “artifacts” parts left over in time from larger works that have been lost or have disintegrated.

The collage books are made up of Japanese paper, drawings, and printed pages from a Japanese calendar. Each page could be a work on its own, and yet a visual story unfolds within the sequence of pages. Again, the viewer is an active participant in the work, turning pages, going back and forth through the book, stopping to reflect on an image. The scale is intimate, the conversation almost a whisper.

Eve Eisenstadt
April 2024