Art by VanDi

About the new series Fragments and the artwork titled Cross of Fire. I have a fascination with found objects that started by watching my mother, Carol Vandermier Levy (1927-2009), a renowned collage and assemblage artist who collected vintage postcards, old artifacts, and magazine pictures to use in her collages and assemblages.

The new series titled Fragments is composed of twelve unique one of one-pieces that are, for lack of a better word, mono prints. The work is inspired by textures, colors, and symbolic artifacts, like an old photograph from the turn of the century.

As a teenager, I began my artistic journey, creating anti-war collages using the Robert Rauchenberg technique of rubbing acetone onto paper to lift images from magazine clips. Ironically, when I returned to art as a full-time endeavor after leaving my business career in 2001, I returned to collage as my technique of choice. Instead of "cut and paste" or rubbing, I used my own work instead of magazine clippings. Assembling them in Photoshop.

Much of my work happens by happy accident, meaning I'll find an anchor to build around while experimenting with a new technique. In comparison, other work manifests over a long period of hibernation. The new collage series titled 'Fragments." is such an example. The building process is one that I've worked with since 2002, the first of which was the work titled Metropolis, a photo collage with painted 2D elements. Urban Glitch uses the process of building the collage first with multiple photographs as small fragments of design and color in much the way mosaic or Persian master weaver uses subtle carpet colors. These fragments must work to support a balance between the positive and negative space of the design. Additional painted layers act as the road map to reinforce the work's structure and dimension. I use shadows and colorful symbols to help lead my viewer's eye. Using a third layer of strong linear so the finished work has a kinetic element. Thus pulling the viewer's eye out and back into the collage, much like Jackson Pollock's painting will do. Good art should resonate on a variety of levels before it's finished. My goal in Urban Glitch is to give the viewer conceptual anchors while maintaining a visual dialogue.