I had thought of calling this show Folding/Unfolding, because the paintings start with the process of folding paper in order to create the composition. They unfold when color is added, as they begin to operate on a more spatial level, allowing relationships between shape and color to emerge and possibly metaphorical meaning to be developed. Folding /Unfolding reminds me of any process that begins with a basic plan and then continues to develop either because of its own internal system or because the environment shapes it. Think of a seed becoming a plant, becoming a bud, becoming a flower, creating a seed. Although the path of development may seem established by the original composition or plan, there are choices and accidents that may happen along the way that will alter the final outcome and so the variety of possible outcomes is truly endless. This leads me to think that while a painting is only a painting, its suggestive and symbolic nature, may help me to see and explore Life itself as the mystery fully present in each one of us and yet so overlooked as we attend to the endless practical details of our small personal lives.

One way to experience the workings of the mind through these paintings is to spend a few minutes looking at them in silence, without opinions, allowing them to unfold and change as the mind looks for new relationships. Don't expect flashing lights or dramatic displays, it is a subtle movement in which new spatial relationships are seen. This is a nice visual trick that would be missed if you take the paintings in too quickly and fix their form too soon. So in the interest of going beyond visual tricks an interesting question comes to me: What controls what I see? Is there full perception of anything or anybody if I react with a quick conditioned response, possibly dismissing the person or experience before I have a chance to see how it may unfold? This would require slowing down, not creating expectations, not insisting on preferred or feared outcomes but being available to what is actually happening, looking to see.

                                                                                                                                                  Kim Schrag             June, 2009