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Kiki Umami


I keep finding this quote, "You have to get out of your comfort zone to grow." It resonates. I think this is what I love about creating and collecting abstract, contemporary art. It isn't always comfortable. It reaches deep and edgy parts that are unfamiliar yet enticing.

Don't get me wrong, I love realism and the comfort it gives when it matches my experience. But abstract expressionism, the art I'm drawn to, reveals an unknown, a vulnerability and possibility all at the same time. It gets me out of the scripted world and pulls me into a place where shadows are brought into light and there are endless possibilities.

We are so conditioned to equivocate over two choices - black and white. What about the third, forth, fifth choice? Why not explore a million tones, hues, and shades of color?

This art is like jumping off a cliff into an abyss and then floating in the adrenaline of the experience. Like love, it's one of the few ways to find magic in our mortal ways.

My art is a transference of a soul journey to yours...or vise versa. A dream plus motivation becomes reality. Kiki umami...you can't really explain it, you just know it makes you feel warm and good and is just right.

In art, Joan

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