Artist Statement
Fall 2010

Every Christmas, I would wait eagerly in bed until the sun just barely started to peak through my blinds. After I nudged my brother, sister and parents out of bed, I frantically ran down the stairs and stood in awe of the twinkling gifts under my mom’s perfectly adorned tree.  After my mom and dad had their coffee, a prerequisite for the morning’s activities, we sat around and began the ritual of gift opening. My brother would go first, then me, then my sister. Occasionally my parents would get to open homemade dioramas made out of cardboard boxes and plastic Playskool figurines. I sat in my strategically chosen corner of the living room, a large enough space to move, organize and reach under the tree. I gradually accumulated a whole new world of objects. In the aftermath of the morning’s fury of excitement, my siblings' piles of gifts were haphazardly strewn about, some still with wrapping paper on the boxes. Clothing was tossed in with toys with electronics with books. My pile was different, not because of the objects but because it was attentively arranged. I had chosen a special spot for each gift. I moved the new jewelry box next to the new sweater, on top of the flat new sketchbook.  They all seemed to belong together and they spoke to each other. I admired this new collection and I didn’t want to take the items from their new place on the floor. They belonged there in that arrangement. They fit.  

My work shows my own psychological process of decision-making, assemblage and acceptance.  I want the viewer to break this sequence down as well. I focus on spaces and materials I encounter everyday. The spaces can range from a stack of cardboard with paint in my studio to the elevator or staircase I use everyday. I photograph “paintings” I find in the world and I utilize these as source material or as a part of the final piece.   


I think the excitement lies in figuring out how to push painting with its materiality, sources, history and object-hood into another realm. I’ve opened my painting practice to include photography, found and three-dimensional materials. The objects and images begin to talk to each other. Associations can be made within one piece as well as between multiple pieces. I strive to create pieces with stability, illusion, collapse, movement, and evidence of process.  I am interested in conveying a confidence and attitude along with fragility and a sense of play.

Copyright 2008 - 2010 ©  Veronica Bruce