Arlene Baker, 2023 juried exhibition

320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY

February 11th - March 18th, 2023

 Artist Statement:

My Silk Spaces Series

I have worked on this series of paintings for years. It started by accident. I was traveling to London (UK) for a month-long summer residency at an arts group that I had worked with previously. I brought brushes and 8” x 20” foam core boards with me with the intent of purchasing gouache and painting on the boards. But when I tried this out, the boards warped. So, I purchased paper, see-through silks of many colors, and straight pins which I used to attach sheer silk overlays to the foam core boards lined with painted paper. The effect was intriguing.

When I unpacked the paintings in New York I loved what I saw: the blend of the complex and the simple, the semi-mystical feeling of peeking through the silk to see the shining lines formed by the pins and colors beneath. So, I continued working on these mixed media paintings, maintaining the framed 14” x 20” format. Ultimately, they became a family of paintings within a series. Viewers have called them “veiled paintings,” “horizons,” “landscapes,” “seascapes,” “spiritual,” “therapeutic”—and “beautiful!”