Valyntina Grenier

Statement

My paintings, installations, and encaustics convey a colorful world seemingly untouched by the upheavals of ruin, bigotry, evil, violence, and fear, but are, in fact, a penetrating and personal view of this moment in our American life. They assert that, even at this time, the ideals of tenderness and compassion serve as the foundation of a prosperous society.

I let myself go, scattering handfuls of pleasures across surfaces. I employ lines of graphite and loose constellations of shapes, favoring day-glow and translucent paint. I mix pure pigments with water or encaustic medium or apply them directly to create celestial compositions of colors. It has been liberating to let particles of pigment direct the topography of the resulting work.

I also explore the whimsical possibilities of installations, joining materials from the cultures of construction, craft, and play to create hanging sculptures. These immersive forms reveal the armature of their own making and invite us inside to question our expectations about reality.  I hope that experiencing familiar impulses in new surroundings will educate our emotions and influence a comprehensive reconsideration of how we treat the world, each other, and ourselves.

Bild: Don’t Shoot, installation, Detail, 2017, photo credit: Lacy Wolf