Unanchored Line
These works are my attempt to acknowledge present geo-environmental realities while recapturing some aspect of the complex emotional reaction I have whenever I encounter nature in a profound and visceral way.
Over the past half century, the geopolitical dialogue on the subject of nature and our place in it has changed dramatically from one of abundance and exploitation to one of fear and mitigation. In one light, these works can be seen as participating in this discourse on power and destruction, both of and from the natural environment. In another light, however, they can be seen as signaling an impending shift in human/nature interactions. We are becoming acutely aware of the fact that our own fate is tied to that of the planet, and we are rediscovering the true essence of our communal relationship to all life – a continuum from which we have intellectually, and arrogantly, separated ourselves.
My sources of inspiration can be found in the earth sciences, architecture, and Buddhist thought. Many of the same forces that shaped the earth also shape my imagery. I am pouring and dragging graphite and ink across a flat surface, letting it spread unimpeded. Laying down this liquid ground is an exercise in giving up control and letting the material express its inherent nature. My formal interventions into the work allude to human efforts to understand, classify, mentally contain, and physically subdue the natural world.
This work is concurrently an investigation fueling intellectual research, a meditative practice to calm the mind, and relinquishing expectation. It is an artistic celebration of sheer joy and delight.
Seana Reilly is a Metro Washington, DC artist with works in various municipal, corporate, and private collections, as well as in the permanent collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. She left a career in architecture to pursue a life in the fine arts. Her works have been featured in publications such as the International Drawing Annual and New American Paintings. Reilly has also completed commissions for numerous private collections, licensed her work for select music projects, and shown her work across the U.S.