Andrea Marie Breiling

Region: Pacific Coast

Website: http://www.andreamariebreiling.com

City / State: los angeles, CA

In my most recent work, Le Corps Propre, a series of large-scale paintings function as performative archaeological stripteases through which layers of material stratigraphy are subjected to a deliberate process of revealing and concealing. The goal is transparency—work that explains how it came to be. There are visible scars on the surface where formal spray-painted lines emerge as pigmented propellant explodes from its shielding. The topmost layers are scraped by sharp metals, combs, or other improvised tools, and the tracks left by the devices give the viewer an instant grasp of both process and effect. The lines and patterns are carefully placed to ignite light and space, presenting at times a vibrating glow of color. From the processes of spraying and scraping, you can see the choreography of the movement across the painting’s surface—the steps are traceable.