NILES CRUZ - ARTIST STATEMENT

My current body of work, begun in late 2005, is comprised of mixed media pieces that begin as modest drawings, which are scanned, printed onto acetate transparencies and collaged into large grids of twelve to eighteen blocks. The blocks are 8.5" X 11", full of shifting lines and color. The original drawings are made on standard letter sized paper, or clear acetate, using oil markers, pastels, acrylic paint and other media. I further alter the original drawings by adding additional mediums after the drawings have been scanned and printed to the transparencies.

While the original 8.5' X 11' transparency can seem simple, when reproduced and collaged together to form the larger image the result becomes visually formidable and impressive. I have discovered that the individual drawings on the clear acetate act somewhat, as biological 'cells'. In the final piece each contains the essential DNA of the large collage.

My individual drawings are created freely and unconsciously for the most part, following an intuitive flow to form, marks and patterns that relate back to impressions of everyday experiences. These can involve sights and sounds natural or otherwise, that remain persistent in my memory, ending in work that is enhanced by 'controlled accident'. My process allows an accelerated approach that captures a sense of personal inner flux. My collaging together of the individual elements is a deliberate and calculated act, thus creating tension between the 'accidental' and 'controlled' elements of the work.

Perceptually, the work challenges the viewer with an overall look that is a cross between a reproduction, a drawing, and a painting. Many of the titles for my pieces come from lines in the poems of the Dylan Thomas, in spirit I see my work as poetic, open to the viewer's own interpretation.