Dale Emmart
Dale Emmart
“For many months, my oil paintings and works on paper have featured twisted ropes in tangled, suspended masses. As still-life props, muscular nautical and agricultural ropes are examined and carefully rendered. Following the tension of a coil, loop, snag, or frayed surface, these ancient or current tools exhibit characteristics of labor efficiency, brutality, and tyranny, as well as the economic use of simple materials to secure safety and profit. Even dormant, the rope pile is dynamic, full of potential as an eventual aid in harnessing its many diverse messages. For me, these ropes serve as a powerful stand-in for a view of current political and environmental issues, as well as private conundrums: things that concern us all.
My studio concentrates equally on oil paintings, large-scale ink drawings, bookmaking, and plein-air landscape paintings. Having different themes and media to work with is invigorating, as each demands specific attention but all contribute to a similar chord. “
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emmartd@gmail.com
