Not on view
Whisper
Artist: Madeline Silber (born Englewood, NJ, 1961)
Date: 2004
Medium: Oil on linen
Dimensions:
10 x 10 in.
Credit Line: Gift of James M. Mullen
Object number: 2007.8
Label Text
Artist's statement:
In my paintings I'm wrestling with the predicament of trying to attain some sort of equilibrium within the precariousness of our contemporary relationships. At first glance, the realistically rendered objects in my paintings feel real and three-dimensional but so implausibly configured as to defy the laws of physics. At closer inspection, the forms seem to be standing in for figures or parts of bodies, or perhaps balls or bubbles, or even models of DNA. The paintings could be viewed as magnifications of the way things work, strange still lives of dancers in mid-motion, or family members struggling for autonomy. The forms are acrobatic, literally lifted off the ground, or perched playfully in midair; maintaining the juggling act of trying to hold things together a bit longer. The technical process of layering glazes, scumbling surfaces and developing forms slowly and carefully, is much like the tending of human relationships: organic, fluid, and thoughtful.
Copyright
© Madeline Silber