Signs form a language, but not the one you think you know. ― Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
My work suggests botanical forms that are found in abandoned gardens, along roadsides, wetlands, and wooded terrain. I look at what lies below, between, and beneath my feet, observing the overlooked spaces. It is nature’s resilience to human interventions that I am drawn to and gives me hope the earth will prevail.
Navigating my surroundings by habitually looking down often gets me lost, and the sensation of foreboding that arises from the uncertainty and the thrill of discovery is a mindset I often adopt as I work through a painting or drawing. My background in Graphic Design and in Modern Dance is embedded in my approach to art making. I move through a two-dimensional defined space combining and layering rhythmic patterns of linear marks together with abstract shapes.
Each mark I make as I work determines the next. I let go of preconceived ideas and lean into the extemporaneous. A synthesis of biomorphic forms emerges by weaving together colors with clusters of large and minuscule marks. My color palette of muddied and richly hued backgrounds absorbs light and reflects a time before dawn or after dusk, intimating transformation, and otherworldliness. The layering of entwining lines and abstract shapes in subtle and contrasting colors disrupts the muted surface. I build in transparency to add depth and reveal the history of the process. Rhythmic patterns move across the picture plane, creating a window into a landscape infused with curiosity and potential.
Abby Goldstein was born in Chicago Illinois, she received a BFA from Pratt Institute, NY, and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, NY. Abby is based in Brooklyn and holds the position of Professor of Practice and heads the Graphic Design area of study at Fordham University, NY. Recent exhibitions include Transmitter, McKenzie Fine Art, Metaphor Art Projects, and Kentler International Art Space. She has received fellowships to the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation, Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Science, Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Willapa Bay Artist fellowship, and Yaddo. Public commissions and curatorial work include Gateway Center in East New York, Manhattan Bridge Bicycle Path, and the NYC Street Design Manual exhibition at the Ildiko Butler Gallery, Fordham University, NY. She has been a TDC International Design Organization board member and co-chair of their annual competition. Ms. Goldstein has received numerous awards for her design work and has collaborated on several books, including Noisy Autumn: Sculpture and Works on Paper by Christy Rupp, Year By Year Poems by Lynne Sachs; "Revival Type" with Paul Shaw, and is the co-designer of the award-winning book, "Helvetica and the New York City Subway System."