Chuck Gumpert - Artist's Statement:

Have you ever looked up the meaning of a favorite song that you didn't quite understand the lyrics to? or a poem which takes a lot of “poetic license”?

We can find a wide variety of interpretations of the meaning of works of prose or lyrics — virtually all conceived without ever having an opportunity to directly communicate with the artists themselves — and perhaps taking the artists' intentions beyond what they imagined. More often than not, that is how we experience most art — internally and personally.

Much of my work is influenced and inspired by what I consider “abstract” music: Björk, Radiohead, R.E.M., Muse; and the symphonic work of Philip Glass and others. The beauty of these types of music, for me, is the lyrical and sonic experimentation — at once discordant, minimalist, harmonic, and nonsensical — which conveys all manner of emotions, images, and narratives.

My hope is that in my abstraction, viewers will have a unique personal experience, unaccompanied or with loved ones and friends, enjoying a moment of their own creativity to see or feel whatever flows through the art to them. Each viewer may have his or her own very different response — interpreting shapes as subject, colors as emotions or brush strokes as musical expressions. I thoroughly enjoy when my art has the power to awaken subjective memories or unconscious associations. Abstract is an escape into the kind of reality we experience only in our dreams!

When people ask me what any one piece is about, I can’t always put my finger on what I tapped into in the moments of its creation. Each new painting is a cumulation of forty-plus years of experiences, emotions and observations — and a further exploration into my imagination, my memory and my heart. I’m not a writer, I’m not a poet, I’m not a musician or philosopher — I’m a visual artist. I prefer to believe my "story" has been told on the canvas — I invite you to explore yours!