Artist Statement: HORIZON View HORIZON Series
H - O - R - I - Z - O - N
ho·ri·zon [huh-rahy-zuhn]
–noun
1. the line or circle that forms the apparent boundary between earth and sky.
2. the limit or range of perception, knowledge, or the like.
3. the scope of a person's interest, education, understanding, etc.
4. any of the series of distinctive layers found in a vertical cross section of any well-developed soil.
In my new HORIZON paintings, I explore the way we view the world around us. The Earth is a curving sphere yet we view the edges of this massive globe as a never-ending straight line. This line connects us to the earth. We a part of our world, not apart from it. With all we have accomplished thru science and technology, medical advances, and social structure, we view the world in the same way our ancient ancestors did – a line in the distance. We cannot and will never reach it. It is the unattainable goal. Separating heaven from earth, it is the one constant spanning the great changes from the birth of our planet to its extinction. It was here before us. It will survive us.
These panels, painted in series and designed to be hung in any configuration desired, was born out of a move from hilly and often mountainous Southern California to the relatively flat state of Texas. In doing so, my color palate has become noticeably more subdued and the abstract landscapes I was creating in previous works took on a more level geography. In these paintings, the horizon is an abstract metaphor not only for the visible Earth’s edge and the layers beneath, but also for the horizons of mankind future. The techniques I employ in applying the paint onto the surface is inherently primal. I create my panels in much the way as our ancient ancestors did in created pre-historic cave paintings. My process of mixing the paint to a muddy consistency, applying the pigment to the panel and spreading it around, often overlaying the undercoat, is just as important to my goal as the finished painting itself.
Dan Zinno
June 2007