Artist Statement

I paint large, gestural flower paintings, inspired by 17th-century Dutch still-life paintings. I love the Baroque space and swirling energy of these paintings as well as their metaphorical content: the passage of time, the co-existence of opposites: light coming out of darkness. The formal invention of these paintings is impressive: I admire the way they are constructed; early great abstract paintings, in which color and form move to the emotional demands of the painter.

At the center of my work is the desire to track delicate moments of balance and stillness in the chaos and clamor of the visual world. In painting still-lives, I find what I am looking for in the middle of abundance, in the perennial play between nature and artifice. There I encounter the shimmering pause, before change inevitably occurs.

What is it about 17th-century Dutch still-lives? It is not their literalness, nor their inventive beauty, nor even their rich metaphor. In my Tulip Mania series, I.m working more and more in a gestural way, to capture the structure, the cadence of circles and lines, and the visual energy of these paintings. I want my paintings to evoke this wild and radiant energy coming out of darkness.

Annette Cyr New York City