I have always believed that art moves beyond the narrow confines
of language and explores indescribable dimensions that are
visually immediate and rationally inexplicable.

In response to the conceptual demands of today’s art I have,
while cognizant of art history, remained faithful to those visions
and morphologies that emotionally have defined the purpose and
limitations of Being for me. I am also aware of the fact that the
viewer may construct his or her own interpretations.

I start my work with “concrete visions” and yet I do not work with
an end in sight. The emotional language of my vision guides me
through recondite and mysterious pathways. I work at several
paintings at once and allow for multiple impulses to synchronize
in a cohesive expression. I make forms for form’s sake and I
choose not to have my works understood or to be scrutinized by
adherence to a standard. I want them to be seen for their power
to awaken senses and envision new vistas.

I also want the viewer to take these strands and create their own
personal narratives. I know that my art is interwoven with their

desires and experiences. Just as I know that my own aesthetic
preferences are determined by my feelings formed in the
crucible of social, historical and cultural narratives. And yet
knowing all this I am guided by the unconscious forces that
lie beyond my reasoning.

I am fascinated by the interplay of accidents and reason.
My art pits rules and order against chaos and the unexpected.
Always, entropy stands face to face with coherent arrangements
and their confrontations, though tragic, are meaningful.

I am deeply engaged with techniques and media. They
are vehicles of my emotional yearnings and explorations.
Photography, print-making, painting, sculpture and digital
technology all facilitate my desires and my quest for meaning
and the purpose of Being.

Babak Emanuel