Esther Stocker is known for her works in which she “manipulates spatial geometry” or to put it more bluntly she transforms the environment by using geometric shapes by altering perspective, and creating optical illusion. She is a multi-talented artist, producing art on canvas and space. Most of her work is abstract; reduced to simple geometric black lines on white background or space, while maintaining sense of depth.
What inspired Stocker to produce such reduced art is Charles Schultzs, the creator of the Peanuts comic series. According to her “Schultz’s work is so complex, but it’s also so simple, sometimes it gets really philosophical, but sometimes the dog’s just looks up and down. It’s beautiful because it’s so reduced.” Stocker’s work may not even resemble Shult’z comics but the underlining idea is there, which is to reduce the level of complexity to the minimal. She was in college when she discovered the magnetic ability of simple geometric lines to draw people in; to make them stop in their tracks and stare at the painting to try to make sense out of it.
This installation piece which is called “Abstract thought is a warm puppy” is a series of geometric lines made with wooden boards that fill the ceiling, walls, and floor. There is this illusion that some lines are suspended in mid air, but they are not. Stocker encourages people to explore her work from inside out to baffle them as they try to resolve her confusing perspective.
View Stocker’s whole gallery at estherstocker.net
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