Statement 2019

I am continuously drawn to Abstraction, to the unknown that unfolds during the process in the studio. This is my way of establishing a relationship with that which I don’t know. I start by approaching form and content through rhythm, by constantly adhering to making marks and strokes that are simultaneously negligent and also defined. In the process of making my drawings, paintings, printmaking or the pieces in fabric which are more sculptural I “take notes”. I look at the glitter, the glow, the dimmed tone of light that shows through a smoldering unrefined color whose structure is often similar to a stage set.

The picture plane I construct is an imaginary territory of coexistence were many forms and levels of density behave as if they were there at all times. It is a visual balancing act.

I work in slow mode, observing the shifts and turns, the infinite structure that becomes present by adding layers upon layers, which are dense but transparent, crisp but uneven. In printmaking the quality in the materials makes for a matterof-fact experience, an image that is somewhat bold and appears very direct. A form that is hard to imagine before it is really there. Printmaking is an exploration that adds to the complexity of my investigation of the abstract.

As part of the process and exploration of how to push an image forward and the movement between different media I start to imagine a context, a show, a text.
Simultaneously this can sometimes manifest in a show I curate or an artist book. It is a dialogue in constant flow.

Julie Sass Copenhagen 2019