Chet Naylor

Red Beach, Santorini

6 x 6”

Mixed Media on Panel

$65

Artist Statement:

The theme of my work is existential. I’m interested in the natural world and the human place within it.  We live in a world increasingly mediated where almost everything is digitized, crowdsourced, mass produced and progressively more algorithm driven and  AI generated.  This is the mainstream, the trending, the viral, but more than ever I am interested in the raw, the organic, the singular.

I paint because it is direct, immediate and physical.  Fluctuating between representation and abstraction, nature’s continual metamorphosis of energy, matter and space is my subject matter.  These primary elements I interpret through the interplay of color, line, form and positive and negative space. Color I see as energy vibrating in space, line as trajectory, motion and as a thread or web of interconnection. Form is energy embodying a physical state. Tonal qualities emanate from pulsing color, engulf, recede or dissolve into subtle transitional grays into the light filled or darkness of space.  The build up of these tonal layers encompassing the linear threads, scars, shapes and hues correspond to change and time.