Clockwise from top left corner:
Pink Composition, 60 x 48 inches, Acrylic on Canvas, 2016;
Gold Composition, 60 x 48 inches, Acrylic on Canvas, 2016;
Amy Kirchner in her studio;
Untitled Green, 72 x 60 inches, Acrylic on Canvas, 2016;
Collier/Strachan home, Indianapolis;
Broken Vessel, 36 x 36 inches, Gesso and Graphite on Canvas, 2016;
John Kirchner in his studio;
Untitled Pink, 60 x 48 inches, Acrylic and Gesso on Canvas, 2013;
White Composition, 72 x 60 inches, Acrylic on Canvas, 2016
Vessel, 72 x 60 inches, Acrylic and Gesso on Canvas, 2016
Photography by Ben Meraz
Life as an artist has taught me patience. I have learned that I need to detach from my own idea of an outcome – or painting toward something – and let the image emerge. Some paintings end up with numerous layers – small changes in shape or color – in order to find the right resonance with itself. I wish to find balance instead of perfection. Sometimes the imperfection in the work needs to stay in order for the painting to evoke its essence. After all, our flaws can be a beautiful and integral part of our human-ness. I think it’s the same with painting.
My aim is to create art that will exist on its own merits, in its own world, beyond the time in which it came into being. Questions naturally arise when painting with this type of process. Can one create a separate space that can change and adapt to its environment? Can one create without an intention to paint a “something”? If there is no relationship to the familiar, can a painting offer a new place in which to relate? I choose abstraction as the field for this type of creating, so the work has the freedom to develop in this way.
My husband builds the structures and frames, which are as important to the work as the paint itself. Together, we create large-scale works on canvas working from two studios in Indianapolis, Indiana.