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Artwork Statement
Migration, 12
Janet Link
Charcoal on paper
40" x 40", framed
2019
I am a still-life painter—my work is overtly concerned with composition. Within the picture, the objects function primarily as shapes of varying color, texture, value. I am attracted to my subjects sometimes because of their form and others because of their symbolic potential or personal significance. The collection of objects in my studio is kept in a shifting tableau that generates a dialogue between me, the objects, and the pictures—and so, my subjects have as much impact on me as I do upon them. Each picture is intended to operate independently but can also be understood as part of a larger and open-ended whole. Although design is an important concern, I also try to create a convincing illusion of form, space, and light. In part, I work in this way because it provides me with an evolving investigation, but primarily because I have faith in it. The content of my pictures is often meant to imply meaning—but is not meant to project a particular meaning. Extracting a message is the prerogative of the viewer.