Carol Gove

"My work looks at the past and reflects on it. It explores the assumed simplicity of the past with the complexity of the present. The materials I use—old sheet music, sewing patterns, materials from my hometown of Temple, NH, and random Americana—are combined with paint to create a rich history on the surface of the work itself. During the painting process I break apart what I have created and rework it multiple times. This reminds me of our own histories and how our journeys can be very removed from their original roots.

Some of my paintings function as portraits of people in an abstract way. The smaller pieces begin with a center component and I build the rest of the composition around this. The original images are often photographs or illustrations that belonged to family members or other people who are important to me. These, along with a full spectrum of additional sources, are brought together into a formal dialogue within the work while informing the history of the work itself. " - Carol Gove

To see more of her work go to website.