Janet Bothne

Artist Statement

Artist Statement

Working with saturated color is my natural anti-depressant. Stretching the palette to ‘louder’ brights and playful metallics –that I previously thought were too gimmicky, I discovered there are no bad or 'unsophisticated' colors, only bad contexts.

Taming intense color is a limited proposition. It is necessary to put aside what you think you know and allow yourself to become a conduit for this ancient primal force. As I relinquish control and tap into color’s pulse, speed and vibrating musicality, the frustrated musician within me plays notes of pigment with my brush. Multi-layered compositions such as these require interplay of background and foreground, weaving the dancers in and out until the wall between the panels, and even the willing viewer, become part of the stage.

About The Diptychs

The space left between the diptychs is a metaphor for the constant interruptions of modern life. Technology has made us reachable at all times and our familial responsibilities remove the option of leaving the grid. Like electronic taps on the shoulder, calls, texts and emails carve any task into a series of plodding stops and restarts. These divided, yet unified works, are meant to illustrate our ability to overcome the discord—to change the perspective and eventually see the gaps as part of the whole.