THERESA (TRACY) SPADAFORA
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    • Left Behind: Visual Histories
    • Monument Series
    • Whimsical Landscapes
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    • DNA Series
    • Vestige Boxes / Sculptures
    • Evolve Series
    • Persistance of Nature
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Artist  Statements

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Left Behind Series

​In this series called, “Left Behind”, I explore the concept of transformation and the passage of time through peeling paint, rusting metal, and other processes of corrosion and decay. While collecting reference images for this series I became intrigued by dumpsters, observed behind office buildings, strip malls, and on construction sites. I started to photograph, draw, and paint the surfaces of the dumpsters as a way of documenting the layers of wear, searching for a history within the marks. Dumpsters, containers of waste, are ubiquitous yet often unnoticed. As I paint and draw the rich colors, textures and marks on the surface of these containers, often including their identifying numbers, I feel that I am giving them visibility and permanence, as a record of the human footprint on our environment.




DNA & Evolve Series
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I have worked with themes exploring the relationship of man and nature for the past 16 years. My current bodies of work, the DNA series, and Evolve series, speak to issues of environmental concern, such as global warming and genetic food modification. In the DNA series I use DNA sequences as a base layer to provide both visual patterning and symbolic reference. The images layered on top of the code offer an open narrative. The paintings and constructions are built on visual and symbolic associations, and the obscuring, deconstructing, and preserving of images in wax helps me to address a complex and shifting relationship between man, his biological roots, and the shaping of our natural environment. The Evolve series departs from the more cognitive aspects of my work and employs the organic and playful nature of wax to render dramatic, mysterious, and meditative landscapes. When put together, these landscapes reflect a sequence of change, and with this change, a feeling that can range from haunting to hopeful. With the intuitive vision presented in these paintings I seek to express the grandeur and fragility of the natural world. Some of my current work combines the Evolve landscapes with DNA text suggesting a dubious relationship between humanity and the environment - systems that are continually in flux as they create, destroy and reassert themselves.

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  • Home
  • Recent Work
    • Left Behind: Visual Histories
    • Monument Series
    • Whimsical Landscapes
    • Found
  • Work
    • DNA Series
    • Vestige Boxes / Sculptures
    • Evolve Series
    • Persistance of Nature
    • Installation Shots
  • Exhibitions / News
  • Encaustic Workshops
  • About
    • Statement
    • Resume / CV
    • Press / Reviews
    • Videos
    • Community Projects
  • Contact