GREGORY B. SAUNDERS

POWDERED GRAPHITE DRAWINGS

LEAVING APPALACHIA
THE ART OF GREGORY B. SAUNDERS
AUGUST 6, 2022 – FEBRUARY 26, 2023
The pieces above are large-format drawings, not photographs. I don’t use photographic equipment or processes in their creation; I use photographs as reference only. I draw them by hand on archival paper using powdered graphite suspended between layers of acrylic spray. The drawings are often done as a series — multiple variations of a single subject or concept .
MORE ABOUT MY DRAWING PROCESS

SCULPTURES & MIXED MEDIA

GREGORY B. SAUNDERS
While my two-dimensional work treats drawing as mass, my three-dimensional pieces treat sculpture as line. These three-dimensional “drawings” give me an opportunity to explore an abstract response to concepts outside the representational realm.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Though drawing is one of the oldest mediums, it has not been given its due respect in the art world. There are few artists known only for their application and exploration of drawing mediums. My intention is to develop drawings on a scale and of a quality that enables them to stand on their own in comparison to other more popular mediums. In my work, drawing is not preparatory or secondary, but is the full focus of my efforts.

I have intentionally chosen subject matter considered by many to be cliché. It is, however, my belief that cliché does not exist in the subject but within the artist and his approach. The challenge comes from doing the overdone subject with enough conviction and intensity to still find a spark of life. My work deals with dichotomy and contradiction; the methods I employ are contemporary, the materials traditional; the subject common, the format irregular; the surface controlled and polished, the application of graphite intuitive and responsive. I intend to challenge both contemporary and traditional concepts of art by presenting drawing which is not line, painting without color, and sculpture that is two dimensional. My work submits the clichéd image as a contemporary object.
GREGORY B. SAUNDERS
CIRRICULUM VITAE