Teresa Cullen
Space, the natural elements, momentary awareness, and the minimalist view, all define home for my practice. This is a visual and visceral aesthetic - awareness of spatial relationships found in all phenomena and the stillness that underlies everything. Considering that space is the primary element of all existence, I find it surprising that aside from physics we pay minimal attention to it at best, preferring the manifested form. Living for 40 years in fields and woods, large skies and horizons have informed my aesthetic. Nature also shares a pervasive heart of presence when we care to pause and touch into it. The elements are in constant dynamic change and space generously provides the scaffold for this observation and lived experience.
Integrated into my art practice is a passion of the science of direct experience, perception and being. Understanding the relative and essential nature of our phenomenal world.
The quiet relentless simplicity and stark beauty of Agnes Martin's work has endless resonance for me. Formally, Lyrical Abstraction and Minimalism also sustain me in my inquiry, as well as simple living and observation. My approach is to encounter, observe, simplify, and learn.
My home and studio is in Oro-Medonte, Ontario, the traditional land of the Anishnaabeg people.
I share this place of beauty with Canadian artist Robert Marchessault (http://www.robertmarchessault.ca).
Propeller Gallery, Nov 2019, Best in Show talk
Wasaga: Detritus 18, digital image
Wasaga: Detritus 13, digital image
The Washi works: For ecological and health reasons, and for the joy of drawing, I returned to incorporating works on paper into my practice, specifically Japanese handmade papers called Washi. I make my own walnut ink from the walnut trees that line my studio driveway, with an aspiration to eventually create and blend more natural inks from nature's living organisms. Experimentation and introducing new elements is always about a continuous creative rebirth. The effort usually brings exhilarating and fruitful results.
Fire & Water, diptych, 16.5 X 24"