MICHAEL SHEMCHUK - statement

I have always been drawn to color. Pure color. How opposite or like colors complement each other and the myriad of emotions that colors evoke. I describe my work as "a surface of navigation", like a map. The paintings I produce are abstract landscapes of color, shapes, lines and textures related and synchronized to create their own rhythm. My work attempts to awaken the memories of color and light that are evident in all of us, and to inspire our sensibilities to have a dialog with these memories. Inspiration comes in the many environments I observe "in the world". The sophisticated colors and patterns of a Gee's Bend quilt or wandering through the grey concrete world of a parking garage or observing the sublime color of water in a white bathtub. These places and objects instill in me ideas of light, color and balance. Inspirations are not always evident and they arrive in many different forms.

- Michael Shemchuk