Maureen McCabe Artist Statement

My paintings explore light, space, and energy to address the mysteries of the universe. 

In my luminous abstractions, viewers will find iridescent topographies, impastoed volcanic geodes, cosmic and earthly terrain.

Painting with acrylic on panel, I build each abstract landscape in a distinctive process that is freeing and healing. In a spin on classic postwar painting techniques, I paint (and sculpt) each piece in a series of actions where both I and the artwork are in motion.

I work on flat panels placed on butcher-block carts with casters. Drawing on my background in the healing arts, I adapt techniques of massage therapy to apply and spread molding paste. Using tools I find in junk drawers and bargain bins, from large scrapers to jar lids to old graters, I sculpt peaks and valleys. Next, I drip and pour paint, using a palette inspired by the transparent hues of crystals and gemstones. 

I dance around each work in rhythmic motion, periodically kicking the carts to change their position. Then comes sandpaper: I excavate and repaint the surface in a cycle that can last for weeks. Each painting takes as long as six months to complete.

©Deborah Lane

Their surfaces shimmer with rich purple amethyst, electric violet, and celestial indigo, and the finished works change as the viewer moves around them. Each panel takes the viewer to unfamiliar terrain, serving as a portal to another dimension.