Bio

Adrian Negenborn is an artist living and working in Massachussetts. He recieved his MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2010.  His work has been exhibited in Boston, MA; Raleigh, NC; Miami, FL; Provincetown, MA; and New York, NY.   

Statement

My paintings are about the primacy of the moment in which they were made and the materials they are made with. Often they are influenced by my taste and state of mind in the moment. Before starting paintings, I setup my color palette, mix specific consistencies of paint, and preconceive notions of composition and movement. Starting with that very deliberate setup, I try to transgress my initial ideas by allowing chance to influence applications of paint. Then through both explosive uncontrolled and slower deliberate methods I throw, pour, brush, scrape, drip the paint on the canvas. Each subsequent action is a reaction to the previous. After I complete the actions, the paint continues to flow and spread. I completely relinquish control and allow them to be. At that point the paintings take on a life of their own. Often a very easy and casual look to the painting prevails. They appear as though they just came into existence by a simple gesture or splatter of paint. They are just barely holding together. Each mark I make and force upon the paint becomes a record on the picture plane. The psychological, emotional, and ephemeral becomes physical. The most successful paintings capture a balance between the dualities of the process. Those images land somewhere between harmony and disharmony, chaos and order.  

www.adriannegenborn.com

What initially compelled you to create your work?

I have been an artist all my life. Even as a child, I drew a lot. I made the decision to become a professional artist at the end of high school. It was the only thing I could see myself doing my whole life. I went to Skidmore College where I honed my skills as a painter, I worked as a ceramic sculptor and printmaker. I learned how to be skilled as an artist. I made commissioned portrait drawings and paintings of neighbors and friends during my summer breaks. At MassArt I learned to question what it means to make paintings in our contemporary world. Painting has always seemed to be the biggest challenge. It is so weighted with history and convention. It is the oldest documented human art form. The impossibility to do anything truly original is both daunting and inspiring. What did a finished painting look like? How much time does it take to make something good? Can you make a finished painting with only a couple of moves? What is resolution, truly?

What main topic does your artwork address and why?

The paintings are about the process and materials. Each painting is a one off, a new start each time. I either get it or I don’t. No reworking if things fail. I make a lot of paintings and over half of them fail to a certain degree. Each painting feels like a rehearsal for the next painting. The paintings balance orchestrated decision making and chance. I often set up a color palette, mixing colors with certain viscosities, and transparencies. I try to anticipate the painting action, with a vague slow-moving background (often sprayed or airbrushed), a stage for the action to take place. Then when the action takes place—“all hell breaks loose”—paint is thrown, splattered, poured, scrapped, brushed, flung. The plan for what might have taken place, is disregarded and whatever happens is allowed to happen. Paint interacts in ways unanticipated. Paint pools, swirls, and flows in ways not originally intended after I am done touching the surface. The paintings are allowed to be whatever they will be in their moment.

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In your artistic journey, what has been the most challenging point thus far?

Probably right now. Having a full-time job and juggling being a parent and a husband all while making time to have a studio practice. I am not starving for inspiration, but for time.  

Is there an aspect of your life that especially impacts your practice?

There is no particular aspect of my life that informs my work, but rather all aspects. At any given point in our lives each one of us has an amalgamation of all our experiences leading up to that point. Each painting is a glimpse into a moment in time in my life. Whatever I may be thinking or feeling when the painting was made influences a myriad of decisions.      

What do you do when you find yourself at a creative block?

Just keep working. Work through it no matter what. Keep working no matter how bad, how stale or how contrite the work is. Eventually, we move past those phases and the work records those transitions somehow. Often valuable lessons can be learned from those failures. Just be tough. Expect failure and keep working. Try to learn from every failure. Every failure is an opportunity to not make the same mistake again. Use failure as a way to improve and keep moving forward. Embrace failure. A lot of younger people today are not encouraged to fail enough. Life is a mess and it never works out the way we expect, but you have to be able to see it for what it is in every moment. Appreciate the beauty in every moment, and accept the fact that we are not in control of a lot that happens to us through the journey of life.