Artist's Statement

I seek to show that although cities are centers of life, it is still possible to feel alone. On the canvas, colors and shapes interact, but the people those forms suggest do not. They connect to us by not connecting: averting their eyes or walking towards us while we prepare to be trampled.

These paintings teem with people juxtaposed against vertiginous buildings and busy streets. Solitude is the act of walking, sipping coffee, or engaging in conversation. With space had at a premium, these are moments we can reflect upon and understand their inherent, though often overlooked value.

Branding also plays a role in my work. Trademarks and logos appear as a dialog between the paintings, but those symbols also connect the paintings to one another and in a sense, brand my work. On another level, they reveal how corporations distribute comfort by disseminating familiar information.

Each painting is comprised of layers of oil, paper, glazes and wax on wood panels. This combination of materials produces a distorted-lens effect that makes the compositions appear to move. Often paintings that incorporate wax would have smooth surfaces, yet these are not. Unlike in true encaustic technique, in my work the application of wax on the panel is minimal; and therefore, the paint becomes an integral component of the process.

Through these techniques and concepts, my stolen glances of café corners and crowded crosswalks give us cause to linger in the lives of others.

—Debbie Likley Pacheco