Stabilize 7- Veronica Bruce Woodward

Veronica has a very process based practice in which she thrives on the reuse of previous portions of paintings and sculptures to make anew. Veronica moved from Chicago to San Diego in 2019 and chose to either sell, throw away, gift or keep some of her work. In the Stabilize Collection she revisited portions of her old paintings from Chicago and methodically tore them into 1-2 in strips. She began creating this collection postpartum with her second son during covid. This body of work exemplifies her ongoing interest in the themes of processing loss and transitions. The Stabilize Collection consists of mixed media works which incorporate previous paintings, grommets, and oil graduations on canvas stretched on only three sides, creating a pull and a curve on the forth side. The black grommets towards the center of each strip arose as a continuation of her symbolic us of the circle and referencing a central axis. She incorporated the new, fresh surfaces of oil paint with these works to play with the contrast of image and object and bring them even more into the present. These works both carry elements of her past and her present. The push and pull of literal and metaphorical tension is embedded in these pieces with the strips and vans stretched and stapled onto the Fram. The new surfaces hold a contrasting energy to the strips with allusions to atmospheric hazes and auras. The grommets were also inspired by the idea of the spine and vertebrae and a desire to align back to center, to stabilize. The grommets begin to slightly align towards the center but are always a bit off. Each work is finding stabilization in various way, with compositional choices and the tension of the canvas and strips being stretched.

Details: 30" x 30"

Date: 2021

Materials: strips of paintings on canvas, grommets, spray panted staples, and oil on canvas

Artist: Veronica Bruce Woodward