TERESA STANLEY

As I worked, I began to imagine an environment where the search for water was paramount. The search was not only necessary for survival, it was also important because water represented an affirmation of some sort of collective truth. In constructing this imagined environment, I created images that direct, contain, extract, traverse and conduct water. Taking the form of blueprints, pipes, bridges, escarpments and towers, the images that emerge seem to be constructed resourcefully and logically from random scraps and remnants of collected instructions, plans, thoughts, memories and historical evidence.

My work is abstract but I am guided by a strong narrative impulse. My process is intuitive and I prefer to puzzle out the painting through the process of making rather than starting with a concrete plan or image. My work courts uncertainty and chaos while also desiring control, analysis and rationality. I am drawn to the natural world but feel a strong affinity for architectural spaces. My paintings are humorous but come from a sincere and heartfelt place. I feel comfortable working within these contradictions.