Suzy Scarborough

I express my personal philosophy through the aesthetic qualities of my art. My ideas come from reading philosophy, art history, spirituality/metaphysics, theoretical physics, feminist thought and literature. My inspiration comes from Vermeer, Da Vinci, Velazquez and Rembrandt. Inspirations from current art history include Jasper John, James Turrell and Odd Nerdrum.

Myth and symbol come from the very nature of human consciousness. It is inherent in humans to create symbols to attempt to explain the phenomena we perceive – to create a framework fro explaining the paradox of existence.

Art is communication through visual images that transcends history and popular culture. Art is not merely social or political. Artists, whether consciously or unconsciously, are the scientists of the metaphysical. We perceive and record symbols of our own consciousness. We may or may not be able to understand fully the significance of our own images. The images should speak as relevantly to future generations as they speak to their own time.

I create visual images of inner states of consciousness set against the outer empirical world. I am interested in how levels of consciousness alter visual perception and interpretation of experience. I visualize the paradox of existence in the dimension of time – the way we experience life one moment at a time yet believe we perceive time passing according to our cultural concept of time. I use symbols associated with the movement of the celestial spheres to attempt to capture these concepts visually. I use other symbols to attempt to convey the concept of the scientific measurement and description of empirical reality.

Techniques and Processes:

I work methodically on wood panels. I begin by creating an overall grid-work of symbols, diagrams, texts, numbers, etc. using an ink transfer method. Over this grid-work I paint images. All the color in the works is painted or drawn using acrylics, pastels and charcoal. I leave the paint as transparent as possible to allow the symbols to remain visible. On some paintings I use masking tape to create superimposed numbers in the image itself. I use an epoxy resin final coat over some paintings to create a smooth glasslike finish. I hope my paintings capture some of the feel of poetry in the warm colors and complex interplay of interactions between the underlying symbols and painted images.