Gerard at Work in his Studio Presenting the viewer with striking, incredibly vivid canvases, Gerard Stricher is an abstract artist. Making use of intense complementary colors—inky, prussian blue, acid yellow and white, placid sky blue up against firey oranges and reds—his paintings convey a tremendous energy as the pigment glows from the canvas’ surface. The physical properties of the paint also play a large part in his compositions. The oil paint drips down the canvas creating linear boundaries and spreading the color further, bleeding into other areas. This adds to the tension in Stricher’s work between the controlled elements and those that are arbitrary and free. When balancing these, his handling of light is superb. In many works he layers dark pigments, then streaks lighter colors over them in large expressive strokes. They seem like strobes of light in the darkness, like the light trails of car headlamps in long-exposure night photographs. This lends Stricher’s work a wonderful lightness and sense of immediacy that transcends the paint from which the picture is created. It is this combination of vibrant color, energy and buoyancy that makes his work truly beautiful and arresting. The aesthetic is paramount for Stricher. He sees the world in colors, and his thoughts, emotions, energy and inspiration are drawn from them. His canvases therefore expose to the world a part of his psyche, a visual product of an inner world that he seeks to communicate. His vision is not completely focused inwards—it is his outward vision and drive which have propelled him to take up art full-time after retiring from business. Stricher’s external inspirations are not the cut-and-thrust business world, but rather the people around him and especially the natural world. It is this connection perhaps, that helps him to create such harmonious works of beauty. Gerard Stricher was born in France and grew up in a house that was full of art and where he felt connected to nature. He currently lives and works in Paris.

www.gstricher.com
www.Art-Mine.com/ArtistPage/Gerard_Stricher.aspx

Recreation - Oil on Canvas 64'' x 51'' Fusion - Oil on Canvas 47'' x 39''