Rich Gere                                                     

 

 

 

 

Artist Statement

 

 

My work is a vehicle to explore my own spiritual travels and the things we all share in this journey. The prints, paintings and installations are a step toward connecting the threads between temporal and ethereal worlds; a look into ourselves, while looking outward at the vast workings of time and space. My intent is to display an action but also to evoke a sense of stillness and contemplation.

 

The recent work portrays an alignment of our trust in ourselves; with the trust we have in the forces outside our control that govern our lives. Instruments of navigation and references to charts and graphs represent the plans we make and the decisions that lead us down different paths. Images of crossings, intersections and containment are presented as icons overlaying bodies of water. My use of hands represents a duality that discusses the control we have versus the control we put in our faith and hopes.

 

 I spend a lot of time outside both on the water and in the woods; my sculpture offers me a way to be engaged directly with thoughts and ideas and a catalyst for getting out of the studio into the world and allowing influences to come from being in the elements. I collect sticks and create objects relating to travel and transportation in a very simple fashion, this keeps me close to the essence of the ideas I’m working on. These in turn manifest themselves into installations, prints, paintings and books by use of both drawing and digital photography.