Jeffrey Drouin

Artist Statement

This work exists in a mediated zone between painting, drawing, and sculpture. -By this, I mean to say these are integral structures. Equal treatment has be given to both the supports and the images. As a result of this collusion of elements (in this case, acrylic sheet, paper, and charcoal) I consider these pieces to be discrete objects.

The images, all begin with three concentric circles. This simple target motif is a means through which to divide and organize two-dimensional, curved space. Using a small number of basic rules governing the means and locations available for merging the spaces between and outside of the rings, I then proceed to link the spatial zones through the use of a standard conduit, or causeway. It is interesting to see how these relatively simple changes affect one’s perception of the newly linked positive and negative spaces as they progress from one to the next.

I think of this work not as a collection of figure ground studies, but as an on-going investigation of changes in spatial relationships. That is, within the series, certain elements remain fixed from one piece to another while changes are gradually introduced. I view the resulting images as interacting zones, spaces encircling and entwining one another, as though advancing in some places, while offering retreat in others.

Employing a thin, acrylic sheet allows the image to be relieved from the wall and presented as the actual, physical plane bounding a two dimensional region of space. Since the sheet is fluorescent, it imparts a subtle color which serves to highlight the plane of the image and, in this way, permits the piece to function as an entire object.