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Ellen Hackl Fagan explores the rich tapestry of sensory interaction through her abstract paintings in her new exhibition "Sensate," continuing through March 26th at the Good News Cafe and Gallery.
At the core of Fagan's artistic work is the commitment to draw viewers into an interactive experience of "synaesthesia," or sensory blending, through arrangements of paintings in a kaleidoscopic tapestry of color. Fagan explains her installations are designed to convey the "voice" of her abstract paintings by revealing the close relationship between color and sound.
"My painting installations make tangible music, synaesthesia, pluralism and an awareness of the mind in the body," she says. "Once a painting is complete, it takes on a personality of its own."
Fagan, who resides in Greenwich, frequently finds inspiration in music for her prolific artistic work, completing some 100 paintings each year, typically ranging in scale from 24 x 36 inches to 8 x 10 inches. She compares her process of painting to "a marathon dance or meditation," producing abstract works the materials dictate the subject of the painting.
"Through pattern and repetition, I am conscious of the sound of the image as I create the visual object," she says. "This multisensory awareness compels me toward open-ended experimentation in a working style that echoes the chaotic beauty of life.
"My process is driven by three objectives: commitment to keeping open to new ideas and materials, collaboration with composers to explore synaesthetic relationships of color to sound, and interaction with viewers of my art," she observes.
A Master of Fine Arts graduate of the University of Hartford Art School, Fagan has participated in nearly 30 solo and group exhibitions since her previous show at Good News Cafe and Gallery in 2000. She has shown her works extensively at galleries, museums and art centers throughout Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Indiana. Over the past three years, she has mounted solo and duo exhibitions at the Hartford Art School's Silpe Gallery, the Mercer County (N.J.) Community College Gallery, the Louise Jones Brown Gallery at Duke University, and The Enchanted Garden Arts Conservatory in Ridgefield.
Complementing her painting exhibitions, Fagan's exploration of the sensory blending of color and sound has led to her participation in a dozen performances since 2004 that have presented her artistic works interactively with music to create a multi-dimensional sensory experience. In "Community Sing" performances last year at Duke University and art studios in Ridgefield and New Haven, Fagan offered an opportunity for viewers to become direct participants in the show.
"My recent installations have doubled as a performance where I invite viewers to select one or more panels based on their preferences, and then have them vocalize the sound of that painting's personality of simply the sound of its colors or textures," she explains. Through these and other interactive experiences, she says, "sensory blending becomes a tool that encourages play as viewers explore the nature of abstract painting."
In addition to her artistic work, Fagan has served for more than a decade as an art show curator and art instructor with schools, museums and galleries throughout Connecticut. She has been an instructor and docent at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, a mentor with the Urban Artists Initiative in Waterbury, and a visiting art instructor at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury.
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