ANDREA ALLEGRONE / Artist Statement

Through successive paint layers, I suggest tangible concepts with abstract formations.  The malleability of abstraction inspires me.  These painted shapes or atmospheric “environments” incorporate more than the association of the title.  Why is this shape in this particular location of the canvas?  How does it affect the viewer individually?  Does this creation evoke more than one idea or representational image?  It is ultimately the unknown which influences my art whether it is romantic, pop, pseudo-raw, abstract expressionist, or a synthesis of these movements.  I often incorporate cyclical themes with varying stages of destruction and rebirth.  Toxic environments also influence the art.  Overall, unfamiliar realms of life and of the subconscious drive my desire to paint.  This is enhanced by an element of surprise regarding exactly how the paint will dry.

ARTIST BIO

Andrea Marie Allegrone is from a small town in Massachusetts.  Her nickname is Andy.  She moved to RI for her BFA in Illustration at Rhode Island School of Design and moved to Illinois for her MFA in Painting at Bradley University.  Painting has always been a favorite choice of expression.

Andrea has shown in various places some including: Chelsea, NY; Manhattan, Sacramento; Chicago, Beaumont, TX; Ewing, NJ; Winston-Salem, NC; Lenox, MA; Providence, RI; Jacksonville, and Virginia Beach to Jekyll Island, GA.  She is beginning to show her paintings internationally.  She just placed with a Prize of Excellence, Award of Distinction at Art Addiction’s 2007 Medial Biennial.  Her art has appeared in several international juried publications and has a cover painting of the hardcover 2003 edition of New Art International. 

Andrea teaches college with her degree but feels the credentials are not necessary to be an artist.  She believes that it is impossible to teach someone to paint or create art.  Andrea feels that studio art instruction provides guidance and encourages creativity in an academic environment. Structure, discipline, studio space, and feedback are positive attributes.  Ironically, she has been described as “self-taught” in New Art International.  Actually, pleasing the teachers was not a high priority for this artist. 

Some have called Andrea’s abstract works "raw" yet raw and naive translates to "unschooled" or traditionally untrained.  Anyone can read criticism and acclimate to the contemporary art scene.  Several raw artists are not "stupid" just as many artists with MFAs are not "snobs."  Of course there are the stereotypical exceptions.  Consequently, Pseudo-Raw is the movement that Andrea calls her own.

First page of sequence-medium to large ptgs.

Some Recent Works

Old Artist Statement

My paintings probe organic forms and atmospheric environments in the universe, on earth, and sometimes internally.  Thematically my art investigates the cycles and boundaries of rebirth, destruction, and age (longevity).  They are evolving, natural cycles.  The cycles are a part of our planet, the solar system, and perhaps our universe.  The illusive “universe” seems for some to be infinite, “open,” and/or expanding.  For others this system is closed.  Will the universe continue expanding until it reaches a mass density or a gravitational limit?  Will it then shrink and expand once more?  Will strings and branes be proven to act as fundamental building blocks of matter and constitute an all-embracing theory concerning space on a macrocosmic level?   What exactly is “dark matter?”

It is the challenge of the unknown which inspires my paintings.  There are limitless possibilities within the parameters of the stretched canvas.  I leave the idea of adding another dimension to painting, open to the inclusion of installation.  Similar to the integrity of scientific research, my concept of installation should complement the paintings on the walls as well as the existing architectural space.  Is the building a vast, transformed factory evoking the process of creation and the studio?  Would time-based media be appropriate (or affordable)?  Could a 3D piece also be included?  Is there overall unity?  Does the show incorporate cohesive components conceptually and thematically?  Extending the perspective beyond 2D further parallels the idea of dimensions beyond our 3D existence or an expanding universe with consideration to relativity and spacetime. 

I am mapping my journeys through these natural cycles with successive layers of paint and other media.  In a cartographic manner, the concept transfers to physical form on the canvas.  Maps are continually being reconstructed according to geologic time and recent history.  Comparable to altered borders or new names of locations, the layers of paint often hide what is beneath the surface.

Relative “permanence” of acrylic paint is well noted.   As with any paint medium, certain colors have specific bonding characteristics within particular temperature ranges.  Paintings are not supposed to last forever.  The sand on several of my works reinforces the mechanics of change.  Yet, my paintings are double coated with a durable, protective finish.  Whether dramatic or static, energizing or pacific, these works display a definite and unique, yet “relative” period of spacetime.  Overall, when and /or where this time evokes is a question for the viewer.