Laura Fayer. Beyond Measure

About

Laura Fayer's work is deeply rooted in the concept of wabi-sabi, which she was first exposed to while living in Japan as a child. She prioritizes a sense of discovery as she works, reacting to the paint and following the natural direction it takes, reflecting a sense of impermanence, imperfection, visual economy, and intimacy. But this guiding force belies the complexity of Fayer's process.

She creates with a combination of printmaking, collage, and painting. She makes her own stamps to print onto Japanese paper, and prepares the canvas by pouring paint to create a bold foundation. Layers are then built up from delicate cutouts of her stamped paper and washes of color. The resulting piece has a hard-won quiet rhythm. It rests between being complete and ordered, and being unbalanced and ambiguous. Color is also important in Fayer’s process, the palette meticulously created by mixing her own paints and using her catalogue of colors to intuitively guide her decision-making.

The palette, movement, and mark-making relate to visual memories of landscapes past and present, organic forms, and nature’s evanescence. They serve as a departure point to then explore the accidental relationships that develop between her tools and layers. Eventually, the parts form into an entity that is neither restrained nor governed by an overriding goal or predetermined resolution.