“Painting for me is a hypnotic internal process of chaos and choreography. Arc like shapes are repeated and layered, leaving behind a plastic continuity of movement and memory. Tension lies in the controlled, silhouetted line of the painting gesture against the impact of gravity on the materials. The repeating icons are painted in thin layers so that the shape emerges from within itself. Transparencies blur the perception of foreground and background.
Gravity controls the ultimate result in color, composition and mood. I am interested in the tensions between control and release, movement and stasis, negative and positive space and repetition and difference. The repetition of shapes is the framework for my experience of painting and seeing. Repetition is a daily exercise, a disciplined rehearsal of forms. The rigid structure allows for accidents and subconscious, intuitive decisions to happen.”
Svetlana Rabey was born in Moscow and grew up in Philadelphia and New York, studying classical dance. She has continued her interest in music, movement and language, which informs her work as a visual artist. In 1996, she received a BFA in painting from Parsons Paris & New York. She has been awarded the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation and Chashama Harlem residency programs. She currently lives and works in New York City.
