American artist Drie Chapek's work boldly explores the world of spirituality and destruction in abstract paintings that connect us to our own fears.
Chapek contrasts bright, dynamic colours with muted and muddy tones; when this is paired with her treatment of thin colour washes along side thick impasto brushstrokes, it is clear that Chapek is able to create extremely compelling tension throughout her work. This friction encourages the viewer to draw near to the surface of each painting to be confronted with her visceral and corpulent subject matter. Each scene appears to be a paradise in the aftermath of violence, a pristine brightness disrupted by a dark and vicious energy making its way through each surface and leaving us with a sense of awe and undistinguished fear.
The consistent juxtaposition of light versus dark and soft versus hard all speak to Drie Chapek's underlying theme of life and death that is carried heavily through this body of work. These paintings encourage us to consider how we view and appreciate our own lives and the people we hold close.
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