Artist Statement
Wendell H. Arneson
“The artist should fear to become a slave of detail. He should strive to express his thought and not the surface of it . . . the artist has only to remain true to his dream and. . .must see naught but the vision beyond.” To describe the quest for that vision, Ryder chose an unconventional simile: “Have you ever seen an inch worm crawl up a leaf or twig, and there clinging to the very end, revolve in the air, feeling for something to reach? That’s like me. I am trying to find something out there beyond the place on which I have a footing.”
Albert Pinkham Ryder
I am interested in work that resides both in the objective and non-objective worlds. I am equally attracted to the gesture or non-descriptive mark as well as the power and ambiguity of symbol and image. Art, for me, does not provide answers but rather provokes questions and seeks possibilities.
These paintings use image and symbol to convey the internal. Beginning with an idea derived from memory and/or observation these paintings are an exploration of questions raised through formal investigation and contemplation of the spiritual. I am an image-maker and interested in the juxtaposition of images that, for me, reference time, place, fragility, memory, journey, and hope. Through the process of discovery I seek clarity while honoring mystery and ambiguity.
Wendell H. Arneson
