Artist Statement:

Within the medium of paint, I explore the movement of energy within the human experience. Our conception of reality is dictated by our sense gates- seeing, hearing, touching, feeling, thinking, tasting and smelling- and the paintings highlight the limitation of our rational understanding of the divine. Utilizing abstraction, the paintings act as mirrors to the human experience both in practice and in principle. As practice, the world around us is a mirror of our own internal way of being, and art acts as a bridge between the duality of what we perceive as outside and inside of our own experience. As a principle, the work behaves in relation to what we perceive as “real” or “unreal”- emphasizing the existential illusion of anything in our experience being apart from ourselves.

The practice of making art is a practice of meditation for me. I am drawn to the practice of meditation because it fundamentally quiets my own thinking mind and its relation to experience. Using art as a tool to mirror this meditative state within the viewer is a great privilege and devotion for me as an artist. However, the lens in which I see the work is just one lens. And the endless interpretation of what art is (my work or not) will be endlessly fascinating and invigorating for me as a being.

Narrative Bio:

Graham Gernerd is drawn to paint because it allows him to express feelings and ideas in which he can’t express in words. Graham feels as though art is a language in which he can speak in order to process himself and the world around him. Currently pursuing a Fine Arts degree at Kutztown University with a focus in painting.