ROSS BISBEE
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Artist Statement
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Originally a classically trained painter and sculptor who employed traditional academic techniques with an emphasis on academic realism and naturalism, I now work predominantly on abstract works in a variety of mediums, both traditional and non-traditional.
My current work consists of intricate abstract paintings created with black oil-based paint on primed panels.
Each piece is made entirely freehand, without preliminary sketches, prints, projections, or underpaintings. At any given moment, I am not entirely sure what the final work will look like, or how the mark I am making will affect my ever-changing idea of how to proceed. The paintings grow slowly until they are finally “finished.”
Working this way is meditative for me, giving me space to explore ideas and work through my thoughts.
I like to think of my paintings as fragments of one larger, endlessly continuing image. Each piece is unique, yet feels naturally at home alongside the others. To some, the marks within my paintings may appear to be continually developing or gradually decaying, suggesting no clear beginning or end. This sense of an ongoing whole connects with the ideas that inform my work.
For example, I am fascinated by how physics describes matter and challenges our everyday understanding of it. My curiosity moves between cosmology, which explores the universe and its vast structures, and quantum mechanics, which describes the behavior of matter and energy at atomic and subatomic scales. What draws me to both is how forms and patterns can seem to echo one another across immense differences in scale.
Among the theoretical ideas that interest me is string theory’s proposal that fundamental particles arise from different patterns of vibration in tiny strings. The possibility that such diversity could arise from a common underlying structure leads me to reconsider the distinctions we take for granted. For me, this suggests that perhaps what we see as separate is part of something larger that connects us all, allowing difference and wholeness to coexist.
Many philosophies and religious traditions explore similar ideas of interconnection and our place within a greater whole.
These ideas also influence how we understand our lives: we each have our own identity and experiences, yet who we become is shaped through our relationships with others. Recognizing how deeply our lives are connected can encourage greater empathy, generosity, and compassion.
People find a wide range of associations within my work, from galaxies and subatomic worlds to fractals, dendrites, and neural pathways. While some of these ideas reflect my thoughts as I paint, I welcome whatever others may discover.
I invite you to spend time with the paintings and explore their details.
Let your mind wander and see where it takes you. For me, part of the beauty of abstraction is that the same painting can offer each person a different experience.
In the end, I hope my work invites curiosity and wonder while encouraging creative and abstract thought.
I also hope it offers a reminder that our thoughts, words, and actions have consequences beyond ourselves, affecting other people and the world around us.
Recognizing our interconnection invites us to act with greater care, empathy, and compassion.
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Given the intricate nature of my work, it can take months to complete one piece. For this reason my paintings are really intended to be seen and interacted with in-person.
To assist with this, I chose to couple detail images along with the full composition images, hoping to enhance your experience, while also providing a more accurate representation of my work, and the work that is put into them.
Up-Close Detail Image
Up-Close Detail Image