Irene Nelson

Artist Statement

Originally, from New York, I have spent most of my adult life living in the San Francisco Bay Area. My work is an osmosis of the influence of the New York Abstract artist attitude and the sensibility of light in the Bay Area landscape.

As an abstract painter I create impressions constructed from the thin line between memory and imagination. My gestural marks are organic and free from formula and conscious constraint. Whether painting, drawing or working with monotypes, my process is guided by a mix of intuition and tenacious experimentation. Compositions evolve as acts of discovery rather than having a planned destination. My practice is a process of working through vulnerability to intimacy to strength and the belief that I am a part of something larger than myself.

Being an artist means that one is compelled to make work—to persevere, to exist in a place of not knowing and to welcome mistakes along the way. The materials and methods one chooses is wide open. The important aspects are to create something that comes from oneself, to experiment, to hopefully discover something in your own process. An artist makes things and at a certain point a practice develops. There is a commitment to keep showing up to do the work, to learn about the work other artists are making, to engage in dialogue with other artists, to be open to using new materials, as we continually ask the question, What if?.