Laura Hapka
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(925) 984-1437
I create abstract paintings through the manipulation and layering of acrylic paint. I strive to produce work that stretches the definition of painting using a novel, construction, deconstruction and reconstruction process. My paintings are composed of hand-painted acrylic that is altered once removed from an encaustic surface. The acrylic is then layered, to add dimensionality and increase intrigue, onto the final surface.
My abstract paintings are driven by my unique process and motivated by themes of self-awareness, both as an artist and individual, expression of emotions and worldwide interactions with nature. Each theme represents a force that has impacted my life and makes me who I am: Laura Hapka, artist.
Process Series:
Paintings based on my artistic process and created from acrylic and encaustic. In this series, I refashion the part of my process that all my paintings originate from by spreading opaque, bold, acrylic onto transparent, ethereal, encaustic. These pieces make me feel vulnerable as I consciously expose, and share, the history of my work. The paintings are raw, honest and signify openness, to me and my art.
Texture Series:
Minimalist paintings made from acrylic, and occasionally ink. The paintings are often formed to the point of being sculptural by adding layer upon layer of cut paint. As designed, the composition is uncomplicated but the work conveys complexity through its size, fullness and manipulation of color and/or tone, with or without text. Every painting references a specific subject or idea.
Money-Chrome Series:
Minimalist mixed media paintings made from deconstructed acrylic and shredded United States Currency. The paintings typically have remnants of metallic to represent other currencies, such as gold and coins. With this textured series, based on shredded money, I explore the monetization of my artwork and the contradiction between the cost of creation and the perceived value of art.
Forest/Trees Series:
Abstract geometric paintings of the forest and trees created from layers of acrylic and epoxy resin. As a meditation on the old adage ‘you can’t see the forest for the trees’, I create each piece as reminder to adjust focus on what is truly important and not give into ever-present details and distractions. This body of work is heavily influenced by self-improvement and my training in Landscape Architecture.
Natural/Wave Series:
Geometric abstraction paintings created from layers of acrylic and epoxy resin. The paintings are a combination of two distinctly designed planes, suggestive of plan view. With this work I create a dialog between color, personal and reflective, and layers, dimensions of time. I use color as emotion and identifiable but occluded layers to explore the separate but intertwined emotions that make up my frame of mind.
Trauma Series:
Paintings of abstract brain imagery created from layers acrylic and epoxy resin, and occasionally chalk. I developed the series from the use of art to deal with past traumatic experiences, which included physical abuse and the loss of loved ones. The work is a means of personal therapy. The paintings are explorations of the effects of stressors on the brain and the changes to brain chemistry due to trauma.
