Theresa Antonellis
I make drawings and paintings composed of breath-generated marks that culminate in organic abstractions. By combining my practice of breathwork and yoga with my practice of observing, referencing and marking, the drawings and paintings unfold in an organic progression. Each mark is a breath induced movement, produced on the exhalation. The marks accumulate in a way that is both controlled and uncontrollable. The artwork invites the viewer to locate a meditative vision, like watching waves or clouds or taking a walk in nature. Sense of scale is mediated from the miniscule to the monumental, to encourage the viewer to be in this present moment. The compositions reference the liminal arena of consciousness and being.
The breath sensation is the primary medium. The secondary medium are the inks. I use ballpoint pens for color and Japanese Sumi ink and walnut ink for fluidity in brushwork. Another ink I use is made from a recipe dating to medieval European manuscripts, iron oak gall ink. Illuminated manuscripts from antiquities demonstrate exclusive use of this ink, made in scriptoriums, and use as the primary ink for script. The ingredients are powdered oak gall (which provides tannic acid), iron sulfate (a compound like rusty iron) and gum Arabic (a binder for liquids). This ink has the deepest blue-black hue. It has a potent association with earliest scriptures across many traditions. I use this ink for small and large paintings. The larger artworks invoke a sense of the sublime, towering above human scale.
Small, medium or monumental, my artworks on paper refer to the act of daily meditation, daily reflection and journaling. Both to the action of journaling, and reflection upon the journal contents. The gift of attention expressed as diligent repetitive time-based temporal mark-making is as old as human time. These drawings, whether made with ready-made ballpoint ink or hand-crafted ink are a vessel of devotion to attention, to breath, to body and the record of these observations. Viewers of the artwork are free to find themselves in alignment with similar experiences of contemplation or meditation.
The breath sensation is the primary medium. The secondary medium are the inks. I use ballpoint pens for color and Japanese Sumi ink and walnut ink for fluidity in brushwork. Another ink I use is made from a recipe dating to medieval European manuscripts, iron oak gall ink. Illuminated manuscripts from antiquities demonstrate exclusive use of this ink, made in scriptoriums, and use as the primary ink for script. The ingredients are powdered oak gall (which provides tannic acid), iron sulfate (a compound like rusty iron) and gum Arabic (a binder for liquids). This ink has the deepest blue-black hue. It has a potent association with earliest scriptures across many traditions. I use this ink for small and large paintings. The larger artworks invoke a sense of the sublime, towering above human scale.
Small, medium or monumental, my artworks on paper refer to the act of daily meditation, daily reflection and journaling. Both to the action of journaling, and reflection upon the journal contents. The gift of attention expressed as diligent repetitive time-based temporal mark-making is as old as human time. These drawings, whether made with ready-made ballpoint ink or hand-crafted ink are a vessel of devotion to attention, to breath, to body and the record of these observations. Viewers of the artwork are free to find themselves in alignment with similar experiences of contemplation or meditation.
