Contemporary artist Betsy Eby embraces big themes and her work is pervaded by spirituality and sublimity, as are the paintings of Anselm Kiefer and Cy Twombly, two artists she much admires. A practising pianist, Eby creates sublime images of nature that are as deeply influenced by classical music as by a sense of place. Eby aims to connect to the energy found in living things, seeking rhythm and lyricism in the natural world that she then translates onto canvas. Today her work reveals that interconnected sensitivity: her delicate, organic compositions become synesthesias of sound and image.
‘I was born in Seaside, Oregon where the wild Pacific Ocean and the grandeur of nature informed me.’
Eby uses the technique of wax encaustic, an ancient process by which layers of pigments, sap and wax are fused together by the flame of a torch. Through this layering process the passage of time is visible. Her works move between dynamic surfaces and deep luminous spaces on the canvas, creating a depth in the canvas as forms are obscured or highlighted. Her meditative practice distils her subjects into something mystical, hovering between the material and immaterial, creating compositions that speak to the infinite and timeless.