Artist Statement – Kevin Neal Gardner
After running into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while, I asked how he was doing. “Things are much better now,” was the candid reply I wasn’t expecting. The friend left before I learned what had happened – leaving me with more questions than answers - and it’s for this reason I still remember the encounter. Uncertainty is that much more interesting. I hope to convey this same expectant uncertainty in my work: a feeling that something has just happened or is about to, a moment of heightened awareness on the cusp of an event.
The domestic scenes I create – either interior or exterior – are not an observation of a place and time. These images depict a psychologically enriched environment, a place that is being influenced by the act of perception. I use architectural and spatial divisions, contrasting light sources, and personified objects (as well as objectified persons) to push forward the impression of eventfulness without viewing an actual event. These are representational scenes but they are not depictions of an objective reality. The viewer is neither a participant nor a voyeur, but instead the viewer perceives the image as a heightened awareness or an internal understanding.
I used to think that at some point I would become a master painter. I now realize that that I will always be learning and exploring in paint. Just as drawing requires some tension between the media and the support as with a pencil pulling against paper, I need something to struggle with. It’s for this reason that I reveal process in my finished work. Such process is shown through visible drawing, remaining graphic marks, various levels of finish and texture, and an overall impression of seeing an image unfold.