"Propinquity"
The Process Behind Propinquity
My work begins with painting original abstract compositions created intuitively, without a predetermined outcome. Once complete, these paintings are deconstructed, cut into narrow strips and fragments that become the palette for what comes next. Existing marks, gestures, colors, and imperfections remain visible, but their relationships change as the work is taken apart and built again.
Deconstruction and reconstruction are at the root of my practice. I rarely know exactly what a finished piece will become when I begin. Instead, I work through repetition and intuition, allowing one decision to inform the next. The painted paper is cut, torn, woven, layered, mended, and reassembled until a new composition begins to reveal itself.
There is an inherent slowness to this process. Painting requires waiting. Cutting requires attention. Weaving cannot be hurried. That rhythm has become increasingly important to my work. The repetition is quiet and meditative, creating space to look closely, respond rather than plan, and trust that something new can emerge from what already existed. While some works take the form of literal woven structures and others move more freely between weaving, collage, and assemblage, they share the same foundation: individual pieces brought into relationship with one another. Color shifts through proximity. Marks are interrupted and reconnected. Edges meet, overlap, disappear, and occasionally remain unresolved.
At its core, my work continues to explore connection - between color, material, process, and the individual fragments that become something different when placed alongside one another. Increasingly, I am also interested in the transformation itself: what can happen when something whole is taken apart, examined differently, and given the freedom to become something unexpected.
Propinquity grew directly from this way of working. The word describes closeness created through proximity, and the piece explores that idea both physically and conceptually. Thousands of painted paper intersections come together to form a larger whole, while each fragment retains evidence of what it was before.
The process of creating Propinquity helped clarify much of what continues to guide my practice today: repetition, connection, transformation, and the belief that the process is as much a part of the work as the finished piece.
The brief video below offers a glimpse into the building of Propinquity — from painted paper to deconstruction, weaving, and final installation.
Thank you for looking closely.
- Alison
Watching recommendation - expand the video to full screen on your computer!
