~TRICIA KEIGHTLEY . . STUDIO VISIT, BROOKLYN
MIND OVER MATTER – FANTASY MEETS PRECISION
A STUDIO VISIT WITH TRICIA KEIGHTLEY – BROOKLYN. FEB 20, 2016
TRICIA KEIGHTLEY at her home / studio, in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn.
Sat Feb 20, 2016.
TRICIA . . with one of her larger paintings.
now, that’s what I called . . a controlled ‘trip’, into the structural ‘unkown’.
ONE OF THE MOST FUN TIMES, I had last year was visiting the home/studio of TRICIA KEIGHTLEY and DANIEL DAVIDSON. it’s always an exceptional experience to see the work totally fresh, at the birthing place – where it’s made, and dreamed up, and . . in context. it’s also a rare look behind the lifestyle, and into the reality of a Brooklyn existence.
part those old school Brooklyn brick walls, here we come.
so:
TRICIA and DANIEL co-exist in a small apt/condo niche that has two floors. the top floor, on the ground level of the small apartment – now condo building, is for living. the bottom level is for their 2 studios.
a determined, and focused harmony speaks quietly, throughout.
this is the entry living room, very spare and modernist in temperament – it’s a perfect foil for one of Tricia’s larger minimalist ‘fantasy’ canvases. very flat, but still strange, and even trippy. though in a ‘precision of the mind & hand’ – kind of way.
as opposed to say full-on . . psychedelia.
and therein lies – the beauty.
kind of like . . spiky plants vs. white-washed brick walls !!
the paint looks to be applied very very flat, but actually close-up & in person – there is brushwork, a very subtle world dwells within.
another of Tricia’s canvases graces the kitchen – close-by.
it’s a super efficient floor plan.
downstairs, a short flight down a circular staircase:
Tricia in her studio – very efficient, compact and yet still – very much a work in progress.
close-up of a drawing on the table. the hands-on expression – is very flat, very detailed, very mechanical. but totally suffused from/within the soul – of her imagination.
MOEBIUS and future vision – did come to mind.
as did architectural toys & . . funny thing: TRAVEL !!
gears & geometric shapes – all in flat planes. with wheels, and levers, wing flaps and strange knobs. matte colors, directional ‘clues’, as in the mechanical levers – add some perspective, but all in all – shapes with no shadows ?
this a hot air balloon, without the ‘hot’. everything is on the down-low and cool – but the imagination . . rumbles.
it’s the mind – that sparks up.
a small canvas nearby.
vintage TINKER TOY sets – anybody ?
detail of painting above.
I really like . .
1. how architectural/mechanical & ‘real’ it all seems, like a blueprint. yet is so . . ‘unknown’.
2. the spatial concepts
3. the mechanical aspect
4. the super ‘mixed’ hues & color pigments. the matteness.
5. the draftsmanship
6. it never falls off – into surrealism, or cartoon narrative, or indeed any specific story, or mood. nor descends into abstract expressionism, gloop-iness, or ‘collage’, for even a second. no ‘primitive’ ‘fruit’ ‘shark’ ‘watermelon’ trending here.
7. it flies it’s own . . course. literally.
anybody else know what Tinker Toys are ?
as opposed to say: Legos. or wooden Lincoln log sets.
but what I really meant to say, was: dig those KNOBS !!
all playing about on a very flat, very shallow surface. re: depth.
back to that drawing board of a table: skills.
precision drawing of the endless . . imagination.
the moment you start to realize . . some are less about architectural rendering, they are actually designs, blue-prints for . . . sci-fi vehicles.
real-life mechanical . . inspiration.
industrial . . yes !!
a work in progress . . .
jars and tiny tubs of paint – attest to the ‘mixing’ going on – those are not just your standard 3 primary colors – !!
IN FACT: this work is just as much about the one-on-one, custom-made ‘toned-down’ pigment & paint hues, – as it is . . about the mechanical rendering & the fantasy trippin’ (lightly).
come to think of it: ‘lightly’ rhymes with .. KEIGHTLEY – !!
jars & jars & probably years & years, of . . home-made color hue mixing . .
getting it just . . right-ley !!
precision ‘coloring’ – is the absolute key to these works, and why they work so well, even though they are so ‘flat’.
and ‘flat’ – is way harder than you think.
that’s why they say . . super-flat !! as out of Japan, and going back to their traditional woodblock prints.
mechanical . . woodblock – color field ?
mechanical color field of the sunshine of the mind – in Tricia’s head.
precision of the imagination . . jump-off.
bikes for Mars ?
the beauty of the grid meets the flight . . of the Keightley go-lightly – imagination.
for more background, CV, & images, see: TRICIA KEIGHTLEY – ARTIST WEBSITE
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH