Leonard Green
Being a great fan of the work of Willem deKooning, Jackson Pollock and, in more recent times, Frank Stella, Leonard is conscious that his interests lie in abstract expressionist painting.
The concept of action painting and the physicality of painting sits perfectly with his interests and influences. His stimulation initially comes from music and this can be very relaxed and passive but in the main, very aggressive and angst ridden. The visual weight of forms and the speed or energy in the gestural marks together provide the trigger for the experience the viewer has of his paintings.
He has always followed an optimistic route in his painting. The colour palettes he uses in his work are often bright positive primary colours although there are occasions when he will use subtle and calm colours in order to be in empathy with the music.
The pictorial space in his paintings can sometimes be quite ambiguous; not being traditionally flat or two dimensionally ‘surface’ bound. He has utilised these contradictions and these factors, and has embraced the idea of the perception of figurative associations being made with the forms and shapes he employs and thus allows a deeper relationship for all with his work. These elements are not deliberate but they are not avoided or corrected, as he has found some viewers, usually those not familiar with abstract work, like to ‘find’ or ‘see’ things in abstract work – even if they aren’t there! However, the result is that his work can be meaningful and accessible to all.
There is no narrative in the work, it is a sensory experience which he attempts to share with the viewer. The ‘energy’ of the work is essentially all important but assisted by colour and gesture, sensed from primarily energetic, up-beat, music.
