Gary Markowitz

I grew into oils from beginning with acrylics. I became seduced and enchanted by the fluidity of blending my own colors. I yet am captivated by the presence of movement in the oils as my brushes flow to release layers of color blends. Initially I aimed to achieve depth through the layers that would summon the viewer to reflect on the passage of time and then go beyond to explore the illusion of time. The ‘pure’ minimalism of Rothko and Turner’s later works were principal inspirations.

I bring my photographic understanding of light into the translations in efforts to reveal the mystical, and even arouse a transcendental experience. Indeed, because of my own experiences, the mysteries of life propel and inspire my quest for beauty – personally and generally. I have evolved deeply in personal exploration and am inspired by the works of great art. Recently the expressionist works of Amedeo Modigliani, and Egon Schiele, Marlene Dumas and the Fauve style of KeesVan Dongen have awakened in my practices a certain freedom.

“Out and About” is a collection of contemporary goddesses as they might be in the world today. The “Ladies,” as I call them, are my whimsical take on the goddesses I once painted more seriously in a classically or abstracted style. During the 1990’s I painted representations of angels, Egyptian, Greek and Eastern goddesses. I’ve dropped the halos, head dresses, wings and have added eye glasses, heels, and hand bags. My Ladies are ready to shop on the Streets of Paris, London or New York; or walk through a city park feeling complete. Sacred geometry and symbolic representations found in earlier works are very subtly worked into the ladies’ jewelry, hats and clothing.

The series “Raw & Exposed: Faces of Beauty “( 2016 -ongoing) evolved allowing my own raw emotions to surface through uncensored brush strokes. The more I authorized freedom in these strokes, the deeper I found authentic rage, desires, struggles, fears weakness, joys, and strengths. In my quest to see myself truly, to see my own inner ‘beautiful” and to accept my own journey, I share this process through my painting. I hope viewers can open to experience their own layers, and moreover to see a beauty in our common humanness – to accept the breadth of emotional expression, as a gift.

My art has always had a connection to what I refer to as the divine feminine and I have attempted to convey a sense of the spiritual, mystical as well as the power and beauty I see in women. “Contemporary Goddesses- Out and About” is a joyful acceptance of self… a coming out.