Steven Boksenbaum

Pedestrians

My paintings invite the viewer to linger and explore that moment between light stimulating the retina and the recognition of an image by the brain. In the initial response to light stimulation objects are not discerned. I straddle the border between representational and abstract, reducing elements photographically recorded from ordinary scenes into light and dark geometric shapes and calligraphic lines. Generally the work resolves on the representational side, retaining the photographic structure, but manipulating the detail and color to reveal a chiaroscuro effect that on some level is more realistic than the photo. Sometimes I get enough information into the painting with fewer brush strokes, and the finished piece is more abstract. The more I work into the paint, the more detail I reveal. Each painting is its own challenge and requires different approaches. I use a limited palette to achieve visual unity. Edges are blurred by low contrast, so figures often merge with ground and other figures. Each painting is a glance, a brief moment.

Steve Boksenbaum is a native of Pittsburgh, educated in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. He earned Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts degrees at Tyler School of Art of Temple University, as well as a K-12 Art Education certificate from Carlow University and a certificate in Specialised Printmaking from Brighton University in England. His work has been shown in England and America, and is represented in public and private collections here and abroad. On-line representation at Zatista.com, sboksenbaum.com and Boksenbaumfineart.com.

Mother and children

oil on canvas

14" x 11"

$120.