Childhood memories suggest that sensations captured my mind and spirit. I was drawn to the darkness of the night sky, the smoothness of surfaces, and the play of light and pattern that appeared when I closed my eyes. Time and memory play an important role in my work. I aspire to translate these feelings, perceptions, and sensations into something palpable, fluid , intimating the process by which formlessness becomes form. I work in varied formats, drawings, paintings, books, digital imagery, photography and sculpture, all based in an abstract language. Over the past few years I have been working in metalpoint and egg tempera. Both of these practices are based in 12th century techniques. Metalpoint was used in several ways, drawing, preliminary sketch for painting (often egg tempera) and calligraphy. My work challenges traditional concepts of representation. I use an assortment of metalpoint and metallic wools. Metalpoint may include metal wire in a stylus and the use of flat and three-dimensional pieces of metal such as coins, plates spoons and assorted jewelry. I draw with everyday objects and build dream-like images in which fiction and reality meet, meanings shift and past and present fuse. Who can say what memory is? My images occur from intuitive and internal gestures, These gestures generate seemingly tranquil images that leave traces on the edge of recognition and alienation. My paintings in egg tempera continue to explore inner states of mind. When I was a child, my internal dialogue often centered on loss, absence, the inevitability of dying and a sense of absurdity. Egg tempera paintings are often combined with the use of metalpoint. I rarely work from a sketch or a plan but more often a generalized feeling, thought, or emotion. Making art allows me to grasp the world as a paradoxical break with familiar acceptance.
© Robyn Ellenbogen | Artist Biography, Artworks & Gallery | www.robynellenbogen.com
