During these years I had a studio as part of The National/International Studio Program at P. S. 1, The Institute for Art and Urban Resources in Long Island City, Queens, now called MoMA PS1. This long abandoned, derelict school building evoked dualities: Here/There, Presence/Absence, Inside/Outside, Entrance/Exit, Past/Present and Light/Dark. Combining self-portrait and landscape photography, diary excerpts and pencil drawing I explored these dichotomies.
In these paintings I was exploring concepts of infinite space and time, disappearance and continuation, change, return, and paring images down to their minimal essence. Concepts of shifting: up/down, left/right, forward/back, present/past/future are evoked.
My subject: industrial factory and office buildings, barns and simple wood frame houses. I liked that these were built for practical use and were unembellished. I pared these architectural forms down to a minimal essence.
In the two City Corp Diptychs I worked with sequence, repeating the same image, to convey a sense of continuation, return and change. Empty panels in the City Corp Triptych convey continuation and disappearance. For the same reason, the color in some paintings fades away until the hue is almost indiscernible.
Some of the paintings were elongated both vertically and horizontally (City Corp Diptych #2 and Three Garages Long Island City) to convey space and time going on and on.
My subject: industrial factory and office buildings, barns and simple wood frame houses. I liked that these were built for practical use and were unembellished. I pared these architectural forms down to a minimal essence.
In the two City Corp Diptychs I worked with sequence, repeating the same image, to convey a sense of continuation, return and change. Empty panels in the City Corp Triptych convey continuation and disappearance. For the same reason, the color in some paintings fades away until the hue is almost indiscernible.
Some of the paintings were elongated both vertically and horizontally (City Corp Diptych #2 and Three Garages Long Island City) to convey space and time going on and on.
Unstretched, Folded, 1994 – 2004
Many of these were done when I was travelling as a visiting or resident artist at various locations; as I wanted to be able to easily transport paintings. I liked the irregularity of the unstreched surface and edges and its relationship to the organic imagery of the landscape and animals.
Places reflected in these works include the Hudson Valley and Delaware regions of upstate NY; my Stephen Barstow Residency at Central Michigan University; The Burren of County Clare, Ireland; Cill Rialaig Residency, County Kerry, Ireland; the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Newbliss, County Monaghan, Ireland; Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, VA; Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY; Savannah, Georgia; Finland and other beautiful places.
Many of these were done when I was travelling as a visiting or resident artist at various locations; as I wanted to be able to easily transport paintings. I liked the irregularity of the unstreched surface and edges and its relationship to the organic imagery of the landscape and animals.
Places reflected in these works include the Hudson Valley and Delaware regions of upstate NY; my Stephen Barstow Residency at Central Michigan University; The Burren of County Clare, Ireland; Cill Rialaig Residency, County Kerry, Ireland; the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Newbliss, County Monaghan, Ireland; Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, VA; Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY; Savannah, Georgia; Finland and other beautiful places.
The Constellation Series 1985 – 1986
The Night Sky has always been a source of fascination. Around age nine or ten, I was given a book called Star Stories by Gertrude Chandler Warner from the Miller sisters, Veronica, Wanda and Angie, who were friends of my Mom. The patterns of the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, Orion, Hercules and the Northern Cross became familiar.
In the summer of 1975 I took a mail boat, the Laura B, from Port Clyde, Maine to Monhegan Island, twelve miles out to sea. There was no light pollution on Monhegan and for the first time I marveled at the Milky Way and the vast profusion of stars.
Another retreat during the 1970’s and 1980’s was a hamlet in Delaware County, NY. Here I watched the constellations cross the sky throughout the night. Lying on the ground, I used a flashlight to read the star maps and find the same stars above me. And in 1980 I spent a month at Millay Colony for the Arts in Austerlitz, NY, seeing views of the Night Sky unspoiled by the lights of the city.
During these years, I was painting and photographing the rapidly disappearing barns and simple clapboard farmhouses seen throughout the country; as well as the Cape Cod style homes of my neighborhood. And then, a recognition: I began to see similar shapes in the imaginary lines connecting the stars and in the geometry of houses and barns. In this Constellation Series of 1985 and 1986, the geometry of architecture and the arrangement of stars converge, a fusion occurs. These drawings now seem like a link between the heavens and the earth. There were over twenty constellation drawings, many still exist, some are lost and some are included in museum and private collections. A brochure, Frances Hynes: The Constellation Series made on the occasion of my exhibition at the Hudson River Museum documents thirteen of these works.
The Night Sky has always been a source of fascination. Around age nine or ten, I was given a book called Star Stories by Gertrude Chandler Warner from the Miller sisters, Veronica, Wanda and Angie, who were friends of my Mom. The patterns of the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, Orion, Hercules and the Northern Cross became familiar.
In the summer of 1975 I took a mail boat, the Laura B, from Port Clyde, Maine to Monhegan Island, twelve miles out to sea. There was no light pollution on Monhegan and for the first time I marveled at the Milky Way and the vast profusion of stars.
Another retreat during the 1970’s and 1980’s was a hamlet in Delaware County, NY. Here I watched the constellations cross the sky throughout the night. Lying on the ground, I used a flashlight to read the star maps and find the same stars above me. And in 1980 I spent a month at Millay Colony for the Arts in Austerlitz, NY, seeing views of the Night Sky unspoiled by the lights of the city.
During these years, I was painting and photographing the rapidly disappearing barns and simple clapboard farmhouses seen throughout the country; as well as the Cape Cod style homes of my neighborhood. And then, a recognition: I began to see similar shapes in the imaginary lines connecting the stars and in the geometry of houses and barns. In this Constellation Series of 1985 and 1986, the geometry of architecture and the arrangement of stars converge, a fusion occurs. These drawings now seem like a link between the heavens and the earth. There were over twenty constellation drawings, many still exist, some are lost and some are included in museum and private collections. A brochure, Frances Hynes: The Constellation Series made on the occasion of my exhibition at the Hudson River Museum documents thirteen of these works.
