TIM VERMEULEN
Artist Statement
My paintings are attempts to articulate in visual form, through symbolic and allegorical stories, a chaotic web of emotions and ideas that is at once deeply personal and about our universal condition. My work is part of a process of wrestling for self-discovery through autobiographical narratives, in many cases involving self-portraiture. Often the narratives are based on established stories or series from literary sources (e.g., Dante's Inferno, Homer's Odyssey, the Seven Deadly Sins). I interpret the sources in a way that allows me to refer to issues such as personal anxiety about the delicate nature of the body, the battle between the true self and the false self, feelings about my strict Calvinist upbringing, and/or the elusive task of personality integration. A common thread that carries through much of my work is a presentation of a world of contradictions, polarities, and paradox.
