NYAB Event - Carolyn Oberst “Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em”

Carolyn Oberst “Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em”

M55 Art

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The following paintings are all oil on gesso paper. I see them as both possible studies for larger wood pieces and also as paintings that stand on their own.

While the wood relief paintings are very labor intensive, requiring the painting of many small pieces on all sides, long hours of standing in front of a large (and scary) band saw, and assistance in screwing the work together, working with paper requires only a few different scissors and I can put the paintings together myself, with glue.

This additional way of working is allowing me to develop ideas more quickly, and still have the option of creating them as large-scale works. Even though they are not in bold relief, I feel these smaller collaged pieces convey the same message as the larger wood paintings.

Artist’s Statement Carolyn Oberst

Like the early Surrealists, I have been using images of toys to create an emotional impact. My new wood relief paintings, featuring bright colors and lively shapes employ a labor intensive and intricate wood relief technique. After cutting the wood shapes, each piece is painted separately with oil paint and then screwed onto a painted wood panel from behind.

This imagery and way of working allows me to make a comment on the tumultuous state of our contemporary life. The vintage toys refer to the fact that childhood, and, by implication, adult life as well, isn’t what it used to be. The days of growing up slowly have been supplanted by an overly busy lifestyle, more bombarded with input than ever before.

On the other hand, the complications, juxtapositions and multi-tasking we all experience, can be fun and interesting. Though challenging, our modern lives reflect a new, exciting cultural expansion. The colorful oil on wood relief and animated quality of these paintings captures the upbeat side of our new order. In this way I’m depicting both the positive and negative sides of this aspect of comtempoary life and expressing the contradictory state of our existence.