Phoebe Gilman: Partial Views of Lancaster

The loneliness of the current American landscape motivates my work. I am
drawn to off-center compositions in urban settings. When choosing locations to paint, I
look for ways the sun and technology move through and across the buildings.  The traffic
lights and telephone wires strung over the empty buildings show a world being
swallowed by the reality of modern life. I apply oil paint in multiple layers to build the
surface up slowly. The addition of wires and signs adds yet another layer, signaling to
the viewer that the scene doesn’t end at the edges of the picture plane. By not including
words or numbers on signs, I hope these images can evoke memories of any number of
locations. 
In another sense, my work expresses a wish for a revival of community. I use light
and shadow as a means of pulling the viewer in close, since they can be seen across the
room. Though we tend to think of shadows as secondary to an object, they often become
the subject of my paintings. Imposing shadows of infrastructure twist through otherwise
banal settings. I’m interested in shadows because they are transitory, making a bold
attempt to dominate for a fleeting moment. This echoes the current state of isolation we
can feel as a society and our desire for meaningful connection.