Meditative Flow

Patter Hellstrom / San Francisco Zen Center 2013

P A T T E R H E L L S T R O M January 2013______________________________________________________________________________________________Meditative Flow is an exhibit of abstract and prismatic works by San Francisco based artist Patter Hellstrom that unlocks the flow of color and emotion. Through acrylic ink on a slick polypropylene surface, she walks the tight rope between balance and chaos. The artist’s loose brushwork and luscious color palette are offset by subtle centerlines that guide and anchor the flowing pigments. Hellstrom engages stability and a meditative moment within each piece. This relates to the stability one searches for while traversing through the twists and turns of daily life. Informed by her installations, Hellstrom’s paintings evoke a sense of detachment among a host of competing powerful forces.

GRIEF PATH, an installation at the California Institute for Integral Studies September through December 2012 included a painted mural gracefully encompassing a 48-foot long expanse speaking to grief as an individual experience over time. Accompanying, intimate works on polypropylene physically render the wounds left by grief. Hellstrom shot through those paintings with a .22-caliber handgun at a shooting range. The actual holes are the center point of the injury. Immersed and engaged in a feeling of energized focus, harnessing the emotions of the grief, the installation is aligned with the Flow Movement, a Southern California painting esthetic.

Hellstrom’s loose and confident brushwork emphasizes the beauty of a simple stroke. Coupled with her liberal use of vibrant colors, Hellstrom’s works recall calligraphic traditions that inspire the artist. She studied brush painting with a master painter in Nantong, China. India influenced her palette, as she traveled to Bihar as a guest artist at the Mithila Art Institute, 20 miles from the Nepal border. Subsequently, both regions and cultures have made a lasting impression on Hellstrom’s art practice.

Check list

Holding 40” x 26” acrylic ink on polypropylene

Making Way 40” x 26” acrylic ink on polypropylene

Expansion 40” x 26” acrylic ink on polypropylene (above)

Circle Back 26” x 40” acrylic ink on polypropylene

Sky 19” x 23” framed acrylic ink on polypropylene

Sun 19” x 23” framed acrylic ink on polypropylene

Wind 19” x 23” framed acrylic ink on polypropylene

Mountain 19” x 23” framed acrylic ink on polypropylene

Land 19” x 23” framed acrylic ink on polypropylene

price list on request

Making Way

Holiding

Circle Back

Wind

Sky

Sun

Mountain

Land