Patrick Grugan
Artist’s Statement
I have this inkling (faith? delusion? pipe dream?) that the world could get a lot better. And I have another inkling that arts can be part of that getting-better process. It's pretty clear that arts and the creative process can be liberating for individuals. I want to see if they can help with liberating society, too. This is a long-term project/exploration, with lots of unanswered questions. But I have figured out some things. Things like:
- the fact that light and color inspire me;
- that pattern is intellectually appealing and often metaphorical;
- that painting offers the most interesting problems, even if I divert from it sometimes;
- that the creative process gives the process of world-changing something it really needs (and vice versa); and
- that I need to collaborate with other artists and world-changers to make this project work.
I like to integrate things. Right now my work is integrating paint, printing, photos, glass and light. It’s also integrating aesthetic concerns with concerns for the world, and integrating my art with the social change work I’ve done for years. I’m feeling around, cobbling together a visual language to explore these connections. Each new series of work is a provisional answer, a hypothesis, a roll of the dice. Wish me luck.