About
Pat Pecorella
Artist Statement
My work expresses deep feelings about my inner world and relationships. A life-changing sojourn in Japan and especially the ability of the Japanese people to “make space” in the mind and heart in the midst of crowds greatly influences my work. My paintings are further inspired by living in the high desert of New Mexico where the land and skies – vibrantly colored, constantly shifting – captivate my imagination I give voice to the freedom that comes from squeezing through.
Through a contemporary gestural abstraction style, my work explores the experience of alternating constriction and expansion. At the start is a world of possibilities – the free mark-making stage. In the middle are repeated dives into the unfamiliar with each step organically evolving from what has come before. Layering with many tools and varied materials, painting becomes a physical and gestural process.
Moving between great and small, dark and light, dense and open; adding and then subtracting, resulting in abstract imagery and their underlying structure.
At the end is hope and space to breathe.
Bio
Pat Pecorella is an artist based in Santa Fe, NM. She received her PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan, conducted research at the University’s Institute for Social Research and published journal articles and a book on the topic of organizational change.
Following her passion for visual arts, she formed a production company (Pecorella Productions) and worked as a screenwriter, director and producer in the independent film industry in Chicago. Her short films were accepted into juried film festivals in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Since first setting foot in Santa Fe, the vast land and skies captivated her attention and imagination. She transitioned from film to art and studied painting with several established artists/instructors such as Jill King, Krista Harris and Nancy Reyner.
Currently, she paints full time in her Santa Fe studio. She is a member of the Santa Fe Studio Tour which runs every June.
Award
Pat Pecorella was awarded "best in show" in the March 2019 Envision Arts digital exhibition called "Abstraction: a fine arts collective".