Judith Nilson

As Judith Nilson sates, “Looking for the right drawing instrument to
use for the series Imaginary Narratives, I experimented with a verity
of "scratching" tools. I wanted to use graphite and oil paint to make
gestural images and make lines by carving and cutting into the
surface of the painting, while keeping the integrity of a two
diminutional support. I was interested in working up an image by
using painting, sculpting, and etching techniques. Working this way
reminded me of the black scratch board drawings I loved making when I
was in school.

I chose single edge razor blades as my predominate drawing instrument
because I had the most control in drawing the delicate images I was
looking for. I've used single edged razor blades in my work before,
but usually to spontaneously scrape off traditional materials, like
oil paint or pencil. In this way, the random scrapings became
accidental markings not deliberate choices in the work.

Overcoming the technical issues of holding a single edged razor
blades to draw, altered my existing process of mark making: therefore
challenging me to question the use of traditional drawing materials,
as well as any preconceived ideas I had of the drawing and painting
process. Deliberately carving and cutting lines into a gestural
vocabulary of oil paint and powdered graphite, was slow going but
very satisfying. The dense repetitive razor blade markings, in
combination with the gestural underpainting, gives these paintings
both a lyrical and dissonant quality. The visual paradox makes you
pay attention.

Although my images are a representation of my imagination, a strong
narrative thread is suggested by the vocabulary of the repetitive
mark making. Paradoxically, random repetition vs. structure causes
just enough vibration in the work to make one pay attention.”

Nilson holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the School of Visual
Arts and a Masters of Arts in Communication Arts from the New York
Institute of Technology. She was a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner
grant in 2002-2003. Her work is in several New York corporate
collections and numerous private collections, both nationally and
internationally. This is the artist’s second solo exhibition at the
George Billis Gallery.

Alice Federico