Using a palette inspired by the colors of Portugal where I grew up, I explore through painting and sculpture the transformational place at the intersection of built environment and nature.
Throughout my exploration, fascinating existential conversations and questions arise around the role of myth; the dance between control and chaos; the simultaneity of the timebound and the timeless; and others.
As an architect and postgraduate school professor, I am drawn to spaces that are memorable, impactful, and respectful of our ecosystems; as an immigrant-traveler, I look for rootedness and meaning in the mythical, physical and botanical landscapes of old and new lands; and as an artist, I create compositions which echo, in a deconstructed, almost collage-like manner, the way we relate to places that are defining, imagined, yearned for, lived, contested, and struggled over.
Similarly to designing a building, my approach relies on research, planning, and project management, but makes room for the impromptu and unpredictable. Geometry and proportion are always present, and I gravitate to materials that stem from nature. I work in repeated layers of intentional precision and random gesture, reflecting the inherent dynamic of the poetic place. Ultimately, I want my work to lift the spirit, encourage reflection, raise awareness, awaken the child within, and communicate the beauty and resilience of the commonwealth of life.
Elizabeth Casqueiro
