Contact Information for
artist Reynald Poisson
Other
Web Pages to see art by Reynald Poisson:
surroundingsgallery.com,
markrichardsfineart.com,
Address:
1 Coolidge Pl. Apt. 308 Clinton MA. 01510
E-Mail:
reynaldpoisson@verizon.net
Telephone: H: 978-368-3410, C:
774-345-0640
Artist Statement
My
work is how I express my feelings. I respond to what I see and hear in
the media and the world around me, and to my own dreams. My work
carries a strong emotional content and I would classify it generally as
expressionistic, but, at the same time I am very eclectic in my
approach.
The paintings in this exhibition can be described as mixed
media – a combination of abstract painting with printed media embedded
in the art. I see the merging of different styles in my work as a
reflection of the merging of influences, cultural, political, and
economic, that is taking place in the world today. The printed media
finds its way into the painting in the same way that it invades my
imagination and senses. An image will come to me, and I feel an urgency
to get it down on canvas. As I paint, the image gains definition for
me: I ‘find it’ on the canvas.
I have had a sense of the visual and a
need to create the images I see since I was a young child. I have
always found ways to express myself visually, even if it has only been
to doodle or draw. I decided to become a visual artist when I was
thirty-two. An important person in my life gave me a book on Vassily
Kandinsky, and I liked his paintings so much that I wanted to see more
paintings. I got books on the New York School and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Those books inspired me.
I went to several museums and then I started
to paint seriously. I had what the Native Americans call a “big dream”
when I was thirty-two years old, and this gave me the basis for a
painting style. The dream included two colors, red and blue, the colors
of the flag of Haiti, my native country. I started painting intensely
and completed 18-20 large paintings in a six month period. This is when
I really got started as a painter. Later on, I took studio painting
courses in college, and at Museum schools. Since I began painting I
have created over 150 works.
A typical painting might take me four to
six hours. I used to work straight through on a painting, but now
sometimes I take breaks, start and stop. I might work on a painting for
two or three days. When I step back and look at the painting, and see
the composition, I know if the painting is completed. I’m looking for
balance and coherence. As I have said, I start with an image in mind,
but that image transforms as I work.
In the mixed media pieces, I
introduce the printed word on the canvas first, and then respond to it
on the canvass with my painting. I would say that this is not an
intellectual process, but a matter of what I see, and the images I have
in my mind. These images are strongly connected to what I am feeling
and my emotions. I would describe my style as a merger of three
painting styles: Abstract Expressionism, Color Field Painting, and Pop
Art. The presence of these three styles and the way in which they
interact vary in each of my paintings.
In my way of working, one painting frequently leads to another painting, or even to another series of paintings. An example of this is my painting entitled “9/11/01,” which was exhibited at the Fitchburg Art Museum’s 71st Regional Exhibition. While I was conceptualizing and working on this project the idea of a series of paintings about contemporary events and culture came to me. Some of the paintings in this series were to be relatively large works. Since, at that time, I did not have the space to create these large paintings, the project had to be placed on the ‘back burner’ for almost a year. I eventually did have the opportunity to complete the project, however. The series is entitled “The Spirit of the Times,” and became the title of my exhibition at Quinsigamond Community College, from February 6 to March 2, 2007.
Reynald Poisson in the Press:
