BE Schellinger

BA in Architecture, Montana State University

Lives and works in Portland, Oregon

 

Statement

I attempt to record an event through motion and action rather than objects. My intention has always been to reflect the present moment, a constant event in a transitional state of taking form.

My artistic journey involves a profound exploration of the elements that evoke order and pattern in the mind’s eye. I am intrigued by the point at which these visual cues give rise to metaphysical implications, infusing the work with a shared communal meaning.

By attempting to lay paint down as fluidly as possible, I am able to study the tension between pure abstraction and the visually implied. I realize that the slightest variation becomes paramount in its effect on the whole. These variations create tension, allow for comparisons, ask questions of others, disrupt patterns and cycles, and promote individualization.

Ultimately, the mechanical tone of the application resounds with the slight painterly jesters that prompt them to life.

I pull from indigenous patterns in weaving, bar codes, rhythmic vibrations, luminous waves, and the meditative quality of a Tibetan prayer wheel. As a whole, I am looking for a calming, tranquil effect in my work. I realize the individual elements that emerge due to the process of finding their luminosity and recognition by recognizing the same qualities in their neighboring marks.

By allowing for the jostle within the painting, I am guided by opposites attract and polar opposites a pose, much like magnetic fields. This defines the energetic fields between them. This unyielding vibration, constant push-pull, and yin-yang quality helps to facilitate a present-moment awareness.

Nothing is created in the past or in the future. Ultimately, my relationship with the creative force or container is a visual representation of nothing, which, for me, is the present.

Exhibitions

2008
         Chi Shifters and recent works on paper, solo show, Quality pictures, Portland, Oregon
2007
         New Works, solo show, Quality Pictures Portland, Oregon
2005
CandyCoded 9.5, solo show, Garage Projects, Atlanta, GA
2004
(in)appropriate?, group show, Momus Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2003
HARDER.FASTER, Solo Show, Momus Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2003
2003 Atlanta Painting Biennial, Suntrust Plaza, Atlanta, GA
2003
Tickled Pink, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2003
Unframed First Look, Juried by Ross Bleckner, Peter Halley, and Sue Williams, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York, NY
2003
Art Papers Benefit Auction, Atalanta, GA
2003
Abstraction Show, Stage Gallery, Merrick, NY
2002
Group Show, Momus Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2001
Trance Missions, Uri Vaknin Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2001
Abstraction for a New Millennium, Stage Gallery, Merrick, NY (curator: Anne Ellegood, The New Museum of Contemporary Art, Soho, NY)
2000
Art in the Millennium, South Cobb Arts Alliance, Mable House, Mableton, GA 
1999
Annual Juried Show, South Cobb Arts Alliance, Mable House, Mableton, GA
Purchase Prize Awarded
1998
Young Eyes, Individual Visual Artist’s Coalition, City Gallery East, Atlanta, GA

Publications and Press

PORT, July 2007, “New Works”
Read the Review
Piedmont Review, November 2001
New York Times, “When Exhibition Space Undergoes a Sea of Change”, January 14, 2001
Merrick Life, “The Stage Art Gallery Presents”, January 4, 2001
Vinnings Gazette, “Art at the Millennium”, January 2000

Featured Work

Chi-Shifter

Chi-Shifter

 

Chi-Shifter

Chi-Shifter

PDX

Oil on panel

PDX

Oil on panel

PDX

Oil on panel

PDX

Oil on panel

HarDeR. FaSteR.

Oil on Canvas

The estate of Sir Elton John

Blooming

White Ink on panel

Landlines

Mixed Media on paper

Landlines

Mixed Media on paper