Lee Stoetzel
- Artist Statement
- Curator Statement
- zingmagazine project
- Website
Artist Statement
I tried to make my paintings have a certain “truth”. I introduced into every painting certain marks that I could not, or would not, be able to make simply with a brush. I used a wood grain comb in my paintings for years, because the comb instantly changes the paint into a recognizable pattern. And yet, what is interesting to me is that with each pass of the comb, I will never make exactly that pattern again—no matter how hard I try.
So, even though I tried to gain some control over painting, I also realized that it is as wild as nature. The one element I always strive for in any work is that it feel self-evident, and as if my hand was not too much in the work. And when the work appears to me like something found, like I did not make it, then I think it is good.
Curator Statement
Lee Stoetzel’s Wooden Irregularities and Skull are from his series “Cubist Western” and depict his particular sense of Still Life meets Abstraction meets Formal Painting meets Historical Context. His interest in nature as a starting point comes from a long tradition of image making, while his use and application of materials and signifiers are both original and pastiche. Using a Krafting wood appliqué tool he builds his pictures and equally takes paint away, while creating a composition with the wood grain. Reminiscent of early American Still Lifes by William Michael Harnett, the works play with the perception of space by testing the tensions of fore, middle, and background with that of surface and decorative techniques not typically associated with Contemporary painting, such as trompe l’oeil and faux, as well as other techniques specific to certain periods/movements of painting. Surrealism’s frotage comes to mind.
