Brian Jerome

The Somber Strings of the Marionette

2023

Hunters herded the bison and drove them over the cliff, breaking their legs and rendering them immobile. Tribe members waiting below closed in with spears and bows to finish the kills.

Life. It will always ebb and flow. The fish swim and sleep. We are. We are.

84"x60" oil and acrylic on canvas, signed on reverse by the artist. This is a contemporary abstract painting by the New York/ Hawaiian artist, Debra Drexler. Pinks and oranges inte...

72"x60" signed on reverse by the artist. This is a contemporary abstract painting by the New York/ Hawaiian artist, Debra Drexler. Vibrant red, violet and pink fields of color are contrasted by sky blue and golden yellow in this gestural abstract painting. An impressive statement piece by the artist. Debra Drexler's paintings are informed both by participating in the contemporary resurgence of abstraction coming out of New York, and by living in the Post Colonial Pacific for close to three decades. In the 21st century, much of our experience is mediated through the screens of our devices. In contrast, the making and viewing of paintings remains a direct, engaging experience in Drexler's paintings. She aims to take us to a state of timelessness that is primal in its humanity, disconnecting us momentarily from the mediated “now” of our electronic devices, and connecting us to a “now” that gives us a glimpse of the infinite. As a colorist, Debra Drexler provokes unexpected color relationships and creates spatial contradictions that come from those interactions. Some of her color choices reference the post digital experience with its highly saturated synthetic color. The luminosity and saturation also mirror the unique quality of light and tropical color interactions in Hawai’i, where Drexler also lives. Her work is driven by an athletic painting...