Artist’s Statement
Working towards a Specialist Degree in Art and Art History at the University of Toronto and Sheridan Institute of Technology and Design, I am continuously inspired and excited by my peers, professors, and studies.
Focusing on printmaking, I use experimental techniques to create engaging prints where line work is detailed, colours rich, and subjects range from technical illustrations to sentimental abstracted compositions. I place great emphasis on the creative process, starting at the conception of an idea and carrying through to the execution of the print. Printing draws me in for its meditative, therapeutic, and very involved process, while the freedom for spontaneous, creative design is made possible through drawing. I approach drawing in a much more traditional manner, and have recently been focusing a great deal on medical illustrations and the physical make-up of the body as art in and of itself. I use a variety of drawing materials, including graphite, conte, pastels, and ink and use a subtle, if not monotone, colour palette. In contrast to printmaking and drawing, I gravitate to the use of bold colours while painting; a media through which both traditional and experimental approaches come naturally to me. I find acrylic paint satisfies the need for both freedom of design and meditation, appealing to me because of its ability to boldly and immediately add colour or emphasis.
Formally, my works are often divided through use of geometric shapes or through the existence through multiple subjects that do not interact. This fragmentation adds a psychological aspect to my work, visualising internal struggle, and encouraging viewers to reflect on their own struggles, both personally and relationally. In single-figured works, my subjects are often engaged with some sort of sublime outside the frame. This distraction is relevant in representing people in such a distracted and chaotic culture as the one in which we live. The contemplation and internal struggle that occupies my subjects’ attention, augmented by a focus on line, colour, texture, and repetition, speaks of a concern for a life of more than just vanity.
– Grace Moran
