David Aipperspach
My paintings from the past several years depict familiar landscape and domestic vignettes at 1:1 scale, illuminated by saturated light conditions that evoke distinct times of day. Varied processes throughout the works elicit a range of approaches to mark-making and spatial construction, at times representing credible physical realities and in other instances simulating the perceptual slippage of memory, distraction, and unease. I’m fascinated by the ways in which time gets recorded and encoded in painting. It’s fundamental to the medium—paintings are like visual batteries that are charged with the duration of their making. They turn that visual energy back to viewers when they are observed. This time-charge distinguishes paintings from other types of images, lending a contemplative weight to both their making and apprehension. I make slow paintings based on direct observational studies to emphasize this time attribute and record and embody the act of attentive looking.