I consider a painting to be composed of two elements: its formal structure and its emotional content. I wanted these paintings to look as if they were still in the process of being formed and to have a spontaneous and unfinished quality that, I hope, gives the viewer the feeling that at any moment another paint stroke or splash of color might appear.
Formally, these paintings are abstract; the emotions they evoke are not descriptive of any one feeling, thought or event, nor illustrative of anything concrete. They are intended to function like dreams, in which images and emotions appear, change shape, confront one another and sometimes collide before disappearing, leaving one to wonder what it all meant.
People sometimes wonder how paintings like these begin, and it’s a good question. For the abstract painter, the whole universe of form and color is available, offering endless possibilities. I begin with a line, just as I’ve always done, then apply some color. That gives me something to react to. As time goes on – some canvases take months to complete – shapes emerge and, as they do, connections between color, form and emotion start to grow and develop.
How do I know when a painting is ‘done’? It’s when the shapes and colors on the canvas work together in a meaningful way. A figurative painter and an abstract one have a common purpose: to create forms that are visually engaging and emotionally communicative. If these works achieve that, I’m satisfied.
About the artist
Gary Falkenstern lives and works in Wappingers Falls. He was born in New York City in 1951 and grew up in New Jersey, where he started painting as a child. In the beginning, he did his best to copy the world around him. Eventually he painted naturalistic landscapes, portraits and human figures.
Later, as a student at Parsons School of Design, Falkenstern saw how artists like Henri Matisse, Arshile Gorky and Willem de Kooning had moved on from painting tied to observation to another kind of art that expressed emotions through pure form and color. Their work, more like music or poetry than that of traditional painters, provided Falkenstern with a kind of roadmap from figurative art to abstract expressionism. He continued his studies with Joan Throne at the
School of Visual Arts and has developed his skills over several decades, during which he has had several one-man shows.
“I believe that the medium of painting itself makes an important statement about modern life,” he has said. “Most of the objects in our lives today are machine-made and standardized. As a result, the direct human imprint is often missing from our world. Painting is an antidote to that.”