artist statement
My installations synthesize a visual representation of spiritual contemplation and devotion centered around the pursuit of mystery and acceptance of inherent ignorance. Using humble materials such as clay and cotton, my sculptures rely on the use of repetition as a meditative practice during the act of making to imbue the objects with prayer, magic, or blessings. It is important to me that my materials retain their integrity and that I do not ask them to be anything other than what they are, preserving the elemental materiality of each component. I use clay beads as an instrument of meditation, taking the time to form each one in my hands and paying special attention to the imprints left from my thumbs, palms, and knuckles. This way of making channels the sentiments of medieval craftspeople who believed that spiritual power was imbued into their talismans as they were made. The resulting installation is a quiet, mystical space intended for reflection, contemplation, and slowing down.
My paintings oscillate between highly abstract compositions reliant on the symbolic usage of color and quiet, minimal still life compositions where each mark is made with intent and care. As a multimedia artist trained in multiple disciplines, I take care to ensure that my work is linked by a common area of research: medieval Christian mysticism. Taking cues from the writings of medieval figures like Hildegard von Bingen and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, my oeuvre is a collection of contemplations about the divine that explores how it exists in relation to the world as we know it.
Allison Overpeck