IN MY RECENT WORK, I HAVE BEEN MERGING SEMI-REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGES WITH ABSTRACT FIELDS AND FORMS. I HAVE A DESIRE TO MANIPULATE AND BLEND THE " REAL" AND THE "UNREAL" WORLDS DEPICTED IN MY DRAWINGS IN ORDER TO DEVELOP POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEM. I AM VERY INTERESTED IN BRINGING OUT A SENSE OF ALTERATION AND TRANSFORMATION WITHIN THE WORK. FOR INSTANCE, IN ALL MY WORKS, A SMUDGE CAN BE A STAND-IN FOR A CLOUD, OR A BUNCH OF DOTS COULD ALSO BE A SWARM OF INSECTS. THIS KIND OF TRANSFORMING OF MEANING OR DEFINITION IS HOW I SEE ABSTRACTION ACTIVATED; I SEE IT AS STRANGELY ALIVE AND HAVING PARALLELS TO THE PROCESS OF LIVING.
THE SURFACE IS ACTIVATED IN TWO WAYS: BY WAY OF THE PAINTED OR DRAWN STROKE AND BY WAY OF THE VARIOUS POTENTIAL MEANINGS. WHEN I PAINT DOTS, SMUDGES, AND MARKS JUXTAPOSED AGAINST FORMS THAT SUGGEST THE ACTUAL, I AM SUGGESTING NARRATIVE POSSIBILITIES WITHIN SOCIAL CONTEXTS. I AM ASKING VIEWERS WHO MAY BE SEDUCED BY THE BEAUTY OF PAINT AND SURFACE, TO PLAY THE GAME OF INTERPRETATIVE REALITIES, UTILIZING THEIR OWN POLITICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AS WELL AS THEIR IMAGINATIVE CAPACITIES TO FORM MENTAL CONSTRUCTS FOR THE "STORY" TO BE VISUALLY "TOLD."
DANA DEVITO