KEVIN BROAD
Artist Statement
Inspired by Broad’s recent artist residency in Iceland, Greater Than Less Than represents a dynamic collaboration with the extremes of nature – ice, wind, and fire – and Iceland’s inhabitants’ strength of spirit. To parallel nature’s impact on the work, concepts are revealed with bold graphic forms. Some pigments were ground from lava rock and other Icelandic minerals. Colors are primary and contrasting.
Broad’s creative process is imperatively experimental with his choice of materials and also conceptually. Greater Than Less Than became a study of the ephemerality of intention in the face of powerful, ever-changing landscapes, the passage of time, and the human mind. This series is a metaphor for cyclical extremes and paradoxical human experiences.
The study of the ebb and flow of nature has brought an inherent organic quality to my work. I saw beauty in the Pennsylvania countryside of my roots and I set out to paint it with an open and honest spirit. My visual aesthetic and creative process focuses on capturing the sensations of light and color in our world, along with the emotions these can inspire.
Over time I developed a love for pigment and medium; the chemistry of artistry. My style with watercolor, gouache, egg tempera, oil, and fresco gain strength from my exploration and direct handling of these mediums – paint that I have an intimacy with because I make it myself. This technical mastery gives me the freedom to be spontaneous while aiming to achieve a purity of process with resonating color and immediacy.
My inspiration fuels the belief that risk and guesswork will reveal new possibilities. For me, art is a constant process of experimentation without fear or repression, with the potential of bringing forth new forms. I try as much as possible, to make every application of pigment to canvas an opportunity for discovery.
Broad’s creative process is imperatively experimental with his choice of materials and also conceptually. Greater Than Less Than became a study of the ephemerality of intention in the face of powerful, ever-changing landscapes, the passage of time, and the human mind. This series is a metaphor for cyclical extremes and paradoxical human experiences.
The study of the ebb and flow of nature has brought an inherent organic quality to my work. I saw beauty in the Pennsylvania countryside of my roots and I set out to paint it with an open and honest spirit. My visual aesthetic and creative process focuses on capturing the sensations of light and color in our world, along with the emotions these can inspire.
Over time I developed a love for pigment and medium; the chemistry of artistry. My style with watercolor, gouache, egg tempera, oil, and fresco gain strength from my exploration and direct handling of these mediums – paint that I have an intimacy with because I make it myself. This technical mastery gives me the freedom to be spontaneous while aiming to achieve a purity of process with resonating color and immediacy.
My inspiration fuels the belief that risk and guesswork will reveal new possibilities. For me, art is a constant process of experimentation without fear or repression, with the potential of bringing forth new forms. I try as much as possible, to make every application of pigment to canvas an opportunity for discovery.
