Will Corr

Holmes Beach, Florida
Mixed Media on Canvas

Corr's motif-driven paintings provide the viewer with historical and social iconography, executed through contemporary applications. The tangible surface of his work has a direct relationship with the layers of under painting and drawing. Often thick impasto passages rhyme with slick damar areas, supporting a framework of linear investigation. Turmoil, struggle, and immediacy are all interacting with each other through layers of time and history. By using a multitude of mediums from traditional oil paint to industrial asphalt, he is able to arrive at a literal metaphor for any given concept. The medium becomes a tangible reference, enabling the subject to become a reality. More often than not, the motifs, imagery and subjects are merely a point in which to begin. Once the process gets underway, the work begins its evolution. When Corr combines these often polar opposite materials, the surface becomes a pool of not only contrasting elements, but also opposing genres or methods. In other words, notions of Expressionism may be juxtaposed with areas of patterned Pop or highly refined traditionalism could be layered with hints of crudely drawn Folk.

Narration and documentation play vital roles in his work. Like large open journals filled with woven imagery, his paintings speak stories and tales of adventure, emotion and personal devotions. However, what intrigues Corr most about contemporary painting is the daily process. The ritual of pouring liquids and adding pigments to existing layers of materials, often times not knowing the outcome, culminates into an almost alchemical experience. His work almost always relies on automatism and its spontaneous approach to making art. He believes in controlled accidents and their contribution to the overall dynamics of a final composition. He welcomes the unexpected.