In this episode, Missouri-based artist and painter Matt Ballou discusses a recent drawing made of ink on paper. His Ensign For Miyoko Ito is an homage to the Japanese-American artist known for her watercolor and abstract oil paintings and prints. Matt Ballou treasures the modesty and human scale of her work and the intimacy of her hand and brush marks. Deeply connecting with her sense of color and shape, he reflects on the archetypal in their work. Being drawn to abstract, archetypal forms putting pressure on his inner sense of volume, space, and movement, he explains that he is looking for an interplay of tension and release–a visual dynamic of pressure and ease, focus and expansion. Matt’s drawing was built over several weeks with multiple sessions using both his hand and a drawing robot. In its final state, it presents itself as an event while also revealing its making process.
An Ensign For Miyoko Ito, 2018
Ink on paper
12 x 10 inches / 30,5 x 25,4 cm
