Statement - Review

MODULATIONS -
Using music as a metaphor, the title of the most recent exhibition, "Modulations", refers in music to a change of key within a composition. Color is at the core of my works and these changes of key are poetically implied through the interactions of color and shapes.
In the preceding exhibition, "Concerning Chords", I worked with circular forms to convey the sound sensations of chord variations, as might be explored by a musician. There is a good amount of "feeling the keyboard", in relating mosaic like patterns of colors that fit together and complement one another in many ways. In both bodies of work, colors relate to one another in mosaic-like patterns. I believe, as Kandinsky stated, that each color has its own sound. Groups of colors repeat and can be "heard" in much the same way that musical phrases in performance can be experienced.

There is a dramatic interplay of color involving the viewer in a visual experience that relates closely to one that is auditory. The chosen circular forms prevalent in these works enable the viewer to move in time through each work in much the same way that time and movment are experienced in music.

The tondo shape, as symbolizing a universal form is also significant to me as an expression of my seeking to be "centered". I search for balance in my art work as well as in life expreriences, all stemming from my practice of Bikram Yoga.

Polyphony in Paintings -
Music is at the core of my art work. In recent work, polyphony is conveyed through the use of color, texture, shapes, line, rhythm and patterns, which are my means of representing emotion, as expressed in compositions of music. Through the use of abstract symbols organized to represent expressive sound, composers have suggested many aspects of humanity, of our universe and beyond. These are the points of departure for my art works. I invite the viewer to relate to my works based on the music within each of them.

Music Series -
All the works in this series stem from the artist's love of music and her belief that "every sound has its own color". The artist carries this concept further in stating that musical sounds also have their own textures, linear movements, shapes, and rhythms. She creates visual imagery based on these elements to convey the emotional impact of music.

The "Assemblages" are based on contemporary music and relate to changing meters, disjointed harmonies, and irregular melodic phrases. Varied materials are utilized, including those of construction to convey the essence of musical sounds, often metallic in character. These materials are interwoven with traditional paints and are uniquely articulated into structural statements.

The "Embossed Watercolors" gestural works, with emphasis on color, relate to classical and romantic music. Brilliant washes of prismatic color play against an embossing process to convey the sounds of rhythmic melodic line and counterpoint. Sweeping across the surface of the paintings, melodic themes can be sensed within shapes as they move the eye through the composition. These shapes merge with other shapes, colors with other colors, all of which suggest musical sounds. Many of these works are composed of more than one unit. They range from diptychs to four and six unit works, relating to the structuring of musical composition.

Prior to this, Estelle Laschever worked on color viscosity etchings and watercolors based on drawings done during rehearsals of the Hartford Symphony. These color viscosity etchings were semi-abstract figurative works and color was used to convey the emotional impact of the music, leading to the more recent abstract interpretations.

Estelle Laschever has exhibited widely and is the recipient of over thirty awards, including the Connecticut Watercolor Society award, the Berkshire Annual Award, and a major award from the New Haven Paint and Clay Club. She is represented in numerous private and public collections, inluding the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Johnson Museum of Art (Ithaca, New York), and the Gerber Scientific Corporation.

Review: Estelle Laschever's work at Visual Images Gallery in Wellfleet

There is an Irish proberb "Nih-aitheanita go h-aoin tios," which means "To know beauty, you must live with it".

Estelle Laschever lives with and through great music and it is the driving force underneath her color work on display. She demonstrates her ability as an instinctive tacitician taking her subject to a higher level.

There is a virtual epiphonic element in Estelle Laschever's treatment of classical music that is not specifically religious but rather manifests a sympathy for all living, growing things. Her feeling for the preciousness of life arises in part from the lengthy experience of hearing romantic symphonies and is sharpened by privation and spontaneous uncontrived handling of materials best suited to convey it.

Betsy Rae
Nauset Calendar, Cape cod