Leslie Wilkes
Gallery Nord
November 15, 2008 - January 10, 2009
San Antonio, TX

This work is part of a series of 100 gouaches, all of which are based on a single geometric pattern I discovered in a 1970’s graphic design manual. The patterns in the book are simple line drawings that could be repeated infinitely (like fabric or wall paper). I found a pattern that interested me and looked for shapes within it. I started making studies by coloring in the spaces between the lines. By isolating these shapes with color, new patterns emerged from the original. I paint without using masking tape creating a softer, less rigid edge, which increases the vibration between colors.

I have always been attracted to pattern and bright color. As a kid, I made drawings of a flowered blanket I kept on my bed, my psychedelic curtains, album covers and my favorite summer accessory, a Peter Max beach towel. I was especially affected by a blouse my grandmother wore that was reminiscent of Bridget Riley’s early black and white paintings. As with Riley’s work, I’m fascinated by how pattern, shape and color can alter visual perception and stimulate a kind of visual pleasure.

Leslie Wilkes
November 2008

For the past few years, I have been making paintings based on geometric patterns, using a range of saturated colors. Last year, I noticed my palette was increasing in intensity, which I figured was influenced by my stressful life in San Francisco. So, this past summer, when I moved to Marfa to live a quieter life, I expected my palette to become calmer by shifting to the muted, earthy tones of the high desert. But I was wrong.

Red White Blue are the most vivid colors in the Far West Texas landscape. I see them everywhere: on bumper stickers supporting the troops, plastic grocery bags, product labels, license plates, campaign signs, and of course, the ubiquitous Texas flag. I had never wanted to paint with these colors because of their too obvious patriotic associations.

In this exhibition, each piece has the same underlying pattern, but variations in the color arrangement disturb recognition of the original form - sort of like an election map of red and blue states. Most interesting to me are the compositions that remind me of something in my new landscape: the night sky, cowboy gear, a Mexican dance or even the lyrics of an old Texas blues song.

This urge to use Red White Blue caught me off guard. It has been confusing and troubling, kind of like how it feels to be an American right now. I suppose it was this unease that propelled me forward, all the while wondering if I would be branded a patriot or a traitor. Would my liberal friends be suspicious of my motives? Would conservatives feel at ease or think I had desecrated our national colors? Or, who knows, maybe the NSA will start listening to my phone calls.

Leslie Wilkes
February 2006