Abbey Stace
Philadelphia, PA
Abbey is a Philadelphia based mixed media artist. Her current works are investigations into materiality, color, light and composition.
Message
Abbey Stace was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1970. Her mixed media abstractions have developed over a lifetime of studying science, philosophy and art. While many artists align themselves with an identifiable artist or lineage, Abbey has sought individuality by embracing a lack of control. Her current work employs a unique medium she has refined over years of experimentation. Her process is an exercise in the appreciation of entropy and an expression of her love of nature. She is inspired by what the materials do on their own but imposes rigorous formal qualities on these multilayered compositions.
Influenced by the many innovators of 21st century art movements, her current works are experimental process driven investigations into materiality, color and composition. She has exhibited internationally and is part of private collections all over the world. She lives and works in Philadelphia, PA and Edinburgh, Scotland.
Statement
Fundamental to my practice is the notion that much of what happens in the world is governed by chance. Inspired by concepts of indeterminacy, impermanence and interconnectedness I encountered studying science, philosophy and art, I have designed a practice based on luck. I begin paintings with only a basic composition but no goal. I observe how my chosen materials interact with each other as I engage with the textures, colors and shapes that emerge. For me this mirrors the serendipitous and integral process that is life.
I am interested in how objects in the environment acquire and shed particular characteristics. How do people accrue and evolve personal traits? The layers of matter built up and worn away on a surface mirror the accumulation and loss of experiences and memories in the human psyche. While these processes appear parallel, all of nature’s materials are interdependent and constantly interacting. My work considers time as the medium in which transformation occurs and friction as integral to the process. I often use materials that “don’t mix” in order to explore that friction and how opposing elements can create curious and compelling results. Wind, water and chemical elements collide and interact over time creating the layers of texture and color on the earth’s material surfaces. This is analogous to the personal interactions both nurturing and challenging that underpin human experience and contribute to a unique character.
Though inspired by natural materials as well as organic and industrial decay, I avoid literal imagery. Ambiguity is fundamental to experience and these pieces often suggest multiple perspectives. What is a close up rock surface to one viewer may be a satellite view of water to another. I rely on abstraction because I do not want to impose a specific story, concept or object on the viewer. There is no one answer, particular narrative or single meaning. Like people, each piece is a unique microcosm. I invite the viewer to make their own associations in connection with a personal trove of memories and experiences and reflect on their own connection to the interdependent processes that govern our relationships with each other and with our ecosystem.
Perceptual in nature, these paintings are intended to inspire quiet experiential reflection which may be personal or touch on something universal. Each is a meditation on time and the mystery, spaciousness and rich accidental beauty of the natural world as well as its fragility.