Clark Valentine - Geometric Movements: New Works on Paper

My work explores the phenomenological experience of mark making. In my drawings, each mark becomes a unique repetition of the mark before it. Over time, the disruptions of the hand change the marks and the drawing takes itself in new directions. These variations of the marks become key compositional features. The process of drawing then becomes a balance between an active meditation of the mind and a passive response of the hand. In the making process, I seek to find moments of stillness where it feels as though my hand is moving on its own, responding to the needs of the drawing.

I am seeking a place of contemplative awareness, where my actions appear to become a passive response to the environment of the drawing. Through my studies of mysticism— the personal, experiential practice of spirituality—I am seeking a spiritual and mental state of stillness which is sought in nearly every religious tradition. Referencing Christian mystical traditions as well as Daoist traditions, these drawings become a record of time spent in silent contemplation. The slow, intentional movement of the body becomes integral to the work. Each mark becomes a piece of information, alluding not only to the time spent, but to my physical, mental and spiritual experience in that moment.