ARTIST STATEMENT : JESSICA DUNEGAN

Chandeliers evoke ideals of beauty, prosperity, and romance.  However, these elaborate sculptures of crystal, metal, and light have been a part of our history for over 600 years and have witnessed our stories played out beneath their refraction.  These great observers know that we are capable of both compassion and greed, love and dishonor.  Each uniquely intricate form embodies these dramas.  Their power is defined not only by their physical beauty, but also by their knowledge.  I think of each chandelier as a spirit in time, each with its own memory and name.

My paintings are created using a mixture of epoxy resin and acrylic paint.  I squeeze tubes filled with paint directly into a layer of resin while it is still in liquid form.  The opaque strands of paint remain loosely delineated and hover within the transparent resin.  Once the initial layer dries, I repeat this process to create physical dimension.  The result is a unique and organic representation of movement and depth.