Arden Bendler Browning
arden@ardenbendlerbrowning.com
www.ardenbendlerbrowning.com
www.inliquid.com
Philadelphia, PA
arden@ardenbendlerbrowning.com
www.ardenbendlerbrowning.com
www.inliquid.com
Philadelphia, PA
Artist Statement:
My current work investigates nature's
determined growth amongst the
urban obstacle. I am continually trying to
understand how urban and
suburban life's constructs reflect on my
view of nature –
symbolically, psychologically and
conceptually. My daily paths throughout
the city and its environs imbue me with
sharp contrasts of beauty and disgust. My
senses flicker between the opposite
histories and affects of decorative window
boxes or a fenced-in plot of millions of the
same shape weed, warping my definition
of “nature” to be continually askew and
perplexing. I identify this distorted
understanding of nature as a
metaphor for an impossible search for an
'ideal' environment...fascination pulls me
in and aesthetics push me back out.
The multi-layered, multiple spaces which I
create are a reflection of
the way I make sense of vision and
memory as an urban resident. My eyes
are constantly darting around, trying to
imprint moments and details,
but combining them together from one
place to another and one day to
the next. I have become more attuned to
this sort of 'hyper absorption' by being a
stay-at-home mother to my fast-paced
twin toddler daughters...I am fascinated by
their intense awareness and desire to
understand, but also overwhelmed with
the need to track their every move, and
balance counter-intuitive emotional
responses and actions. My eyes literally
need to be everywhere at once - and being
a mother has heightened the level of
consideration I give to my surroundings
as well. Drawing and painting allow me to
transpose what I cannot visually or
intellectually resolve into a diaristic map of
intersecting moments and
snapshots.
My current work investigates nature's
determined growth amongst the
urban obstacle. I am continually trying to
understand how urban and
suburban life's constructs reflect on my
view of nature –
symbolically, psychologically and
conceptually. My daily paths throughout
the city and its environs imbue me with
sharp contrasts of beauty and disgust. My
senses flicker between the opposite
histories and affects of decorative window
boxes or a fenced-in plot of millions of the
same shape weed, warping my definition
of “nature” to be continually askew and
perplexing. I identify this distorted
understanding of nature as a
metaphor for an impossible search for an
'ideal' environment...fascination pulls me
in and aesthetics push me back out.
The multi-layered, multiple spaces which I
create are a reflection of
the way I make sense of vision and
memory as an urban resident. My eyes
are constantly darting around, trying to
imprint moments and details,
but combining them together from one
place to another and one day to
the next. I have become more attuned to
this sort of 'hyper absorption' by being a
stay-at-home mother to my fast-paced
twin toddler daughters...I am fascinated by
their intense awareness and desire to
understand, but also overwhelmed with
the need to track their every move, and
balance counter-intuitive emotional
responses and actions. My eyes literally
need to be everywhere at once - and being
a mother has heightened the level of
consideration I give to my surroundings
as well. Drawing and painting allow me to
transpose what I cannot visually or
intellectually resolve into a diaristic map of
intersecting moments and
snapshots.
| “Infectious", gouache on rag paper, 42" X 36", 2008 |
| “Aside”, gouache, acrylic, marker, and crayon on rag paper, 49" x 84" , 2008 |
| "Infiltrate", gouache and cut-outs on rag paper, 22" X 60", 2007 |
| "Lowdown", gouache on rag paper, 34" X 50", 2008. |
| "Sunken Houses", gouache and marker on rag paper, 40" X 50", 2008 |
| “Prospects", gouache, marker and crayon on rag paper, 50" X 48", 2008 |