Idol
Pilgrimage
Stay With Me
Pam Douglas
Artist Statement
My art came off the wall this year in a visceral response to current political forces, a refusal to be repressed.
In work from 2018, IDOL evokes a woman who is a force of nature holding out her oversized hands. PILGRIMAGE commemorates all those seeking refuge with bronzed shoes on rugged bark. STAY WITH ME uses palm fronds to create a mother and child grasping for each other.
In 2019 I’m drawing life-size figures with 3 dimensional elements that will become a 40 ft. installation, titled “Sanctuary.”
Each series risks an experimental approach. I explore both the substrate: palm fronds, rice paper, silk, canvas, wood -- and the tools: inks, paint, charcoal, wire, string. In the past, my paintings strove for subtle nuance. Now, from painting to assemblage and sculpture, I’ve come to “primal expressionism,” art that springs from passion and aims for power.