The work is about nothing and everything all at once.

In this body of work, I am interested in creating images that hover somewhere between memory and reality, imagined and remembered, true and false—to create images that reflect the moments between realities. I am searching for a sense of recognition but an uncertainty in where to place it, as if one is experiencing déjà vu. I seek to make imagery that appears ambiguously realistic and surrealistic all at once.

Often informed from found images (family photos, slides, home movies, etc.), the paintings are born out of an intuitive and direct painting approach, inviting unintentional and spontaneous opportunities to emerge. This act of interpretation and translation becomes a process of discovery, creating moments of revelation through the unexpected narratives that emerge. The work originates with a fascination in the form and style reflected in family photo albums and other vernacular forms of photography. I have a particular interest in the specific formats, colors, and styles of these images from that period influenced my work in many ways. As I’ve started to collecting images, I am struck by a sense familiarity with the people and places. There is a certain nostalgia that is communicated through those images that becomes integrated into my narratives.

MARK STEMWEDEL

MARK STEMWEDEL