Ted Braggins

Artist Statement

My work centers on using the landscape as source material for expression on many different levels. In terms of structure the breaking of the traditional picture plane into spaces that can function as pure form while working spatially is integral. I like to be able to take apart space and then re-create it in an altered form using line, color and texture. The landscape images that I have been working with are used as metaphors for emotional qualities and are expressions of deep, personal meaning. I believe in a psychological form of landscape that is able to represent characteristics of human feeling. I have used solitary images of forms in nature such as rocks, cliffs, waves or trees that I believe have the ability to produce a sense of perplexity and contemplation.

Regional landscapes are the source material for my work here in the Hudson Valley, Central New York, in the Adirondack Mountains or in other areas where I have lived such as New Mexico and Colorado. I am interested in depicting the long view and will often select roads, distant mountains or valleys to include in my work.

Free standing trees in full bloom or in decline are also source material as are their individual broken branches. The single tree pieces are meant to evoke feelings of mystery and transformation while giving pause for reflection. I believe that the features within a view shed can supply imagery showing life cycles and change while providing individual interpretations of the landscape.

The artworks are produced on paper in a variety of media. Many works are monotypes or combined with additional print media. I find that working in printmaking provides me with a level of control that allows me to use strong color, texture, layering and transparency to produce works that are flat while having depth and richness. Often I will work with ghost impressions to develop totally different visual solutions than one might experience with a first-hand printed piece. Other works are scratched images in photo emulsion that create an immediacy and direct response to the tree images. I have also been photographing landscapes and incorporating the images into digital media with drawing or painting using computer graphics software. The pieces then have additional hand-work done to them in the form of scratching, painting, drawing or collage.

Apart from natural organic prints, I produce works that are expressive of political and social unrest. The Black Flag series, Say Their Names, Hope and Promise, and Empty Chairs, are representative of this body. These works collectively represent despair, deep loss, hope, and racial injustice.

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Landscapes
Social Commentary
Still Life

“The Empty Chair series comes from feelings of loss and despondency. This arose during the height of the pandemic when the numbers of deaths seemed to keep going up exponentially. Yet the black and white monotypes have color in certain areas that seem to offer up hope and respite. In another sense, they evoke a sense of time. Has someone just left or may be returning? Much of my work is colorful and of regional landscapes. The chair pieces represent an exploration of emotional experience, interior spaces, and objects of personal significance.” - Ted Braggins