TERESA CULLEN
I view vessel forms as having both numinous and mundane identities. They are symbolic objects of domestic ritual life and they also have reference to the sensual and spiritual. Vessel forms occupy the stage on which I explore the drama of contrasting elements. These elements include form and emptiness, randomness and order, symmetry and incongruity, static and kinetic, all of which seem to be contradictory energies existing in a supportive field. I see these underlying forces as aspects of the universal creative dance of yin and yang. I find that within this natural field of opposites is a free flowing harmonic essence which underlies all of creation. To awaken to this underlying essence is to be inspired by the beauty of subtlety and the sublime.
The essence of my creativity has been profoundly influenced from living for over 20 years in a rural environment where I have developed a personal connection with both the natural and spirit worlds. This simple yet complex relationship poetically informs and transforms my thought, vision and movement.
I reside in Simcoe County near Barrie, Ontario where I share a studio building with my partner Robert Marchessault, also a painter.
|