Connie Goldman
By varying the depths, layers, shapes, and tones, Connie Goldman creates dimensional paintings that reflect the tenuous relationship between flux and stasis that is the barometer of all living things.
The artist begins her process by making preliminary drawings, which are eventually firmed up on graph paper so that measurements are precise. During the process of actually painting and applying colors is when the artist feels she has “plenty to play with,” and can then work in an intuitive manner that allows for more spontaneity. Each piece is created as stand alone work, yet informs subsequent pieces that altogether converse within a suite. “An idea will manifest, it will germinate for a long time, and I will try several ways to elaborate on the theme. Thus the grouping of pieces as a whole takes on a symphonic quality,” explains Goldman, as she likens such notion to an orchestration of individual pieces as well as the larger body of work.
Although there is a refined finish to each piece, Goldman works the surface by layering, sanding, and using different additives such as wax or clay to the paint. The result is a quality of warmth rather than a manufactured, machine-made finish.
Goldman’s work relates to the abstraction of both the Russian Constructivists and to some post-Minimalists like Martin Puryear, Ellsworth Kelly and Robert Mangold. Although she uses a minimalist or reductive language, the work aspires to something different from the no-content dogma of minimalism. By using simplistic shapes, colors, surface, and differing depths within each piece, she strives to elicit metaphors. With a slow unfolding the viewer can internalize the dynamics of the work through his/her own emotional or intellectual filters. Thus, while the extreme abstraction leaves the work very open to interpretation, the interpretation becomes very intimate.
About the Artist
Connie Goldman was born in El Paso, Texas and currently lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds an MFA in painting and drawing from San Francisco Art Institute and a BA in psychology from University of Texas in Austin. Her work was featured in 2015 solo exhibitions at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary where she is represented, and at Stanford Art Spaces, Stanford University. She has exhibited her work in numerous shows throughout the United States and in Holland, France, and Germany. The artist has taught at San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University, California College of the Arts, and Santa Rosa Junior College.