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In 1991, Leslie Neumann moved from New York
City, population 8 million, to Aripeka, a small fishing village of 500
people on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Her home and studio are
surrounded by more than 14,000 acres of coastal wilderness.
I hear no traffic, and at night I listen to the mullet jump, while
seeing stars reflected in the water. All of this beauty has inspired and
influenced me as a painter.
Neumann paints cosmic and terrestrial landscapes, but rather than
recording actual geographic places, she depicts emotional and
metaphysical states.
Whether we wander deep into galactic space or hover in earthly woods and
water, we encounter a spiritual energy in her orbs and light bursts.
Neumann paints with encaustic (hot wax) and oil paint, applying the wax
with a brush while it’s
still hot. As it congeals, she scrapes through to reveal other layers of
color, and engraves ancient pictographs, words, and marks into the wax.
The result is a rich luminous surface.
I’m interested in the possibility that many forces, both visible and
invisible, seem to converge to produce a mystical experience.
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