Kelly Brumfield-Woods

I have two bodies of work; hard-edge glitter geometric abstractions on canvas and the “glitter panels” which are abstract compositions made out of fabric, allowing them to be presented in various ways—draped, hung flat or stretched like a formal painting.

The paintings, with some formal elements of Light and Space and color theory, are strict in their forms but playful in their materials. I’ve introduced a bit of naughtiness with bright color, glitter, and sometimes elements such as fake fur. The viewer can, with a glance, understand formally what the painting is about but with extended involvement, there is more to experience. If one moves around a work it shifts in color or light and the surface appears to move. In many works, when the viewer directs their gaze at a point on the painting and then looks immediately at a white wall, an after- image appears. The work offers shifts in visual perception in both the direct looking and also in the looking away.

The fabric panels, less formal in their composition as they are in their method of hanging, are the product of an invitation to design a “glitter chamber” for an art fair, which posed many logistical problems. These panels were the solution and it opened up a new set of possibilities which I continue to explore.