Madeleine Crawford

Visual Art – Pittsburgh

Hematology, the study of blood, inspires my work. By combining simulations of the grotesque and abject with elements of metallic decoration, I create non-objective paintings that are an exploration of color and material. The depth of various tints, tones, and shades found within blood’s singular hue are intriguing to me. Capable of altering its form, blood changes from a flowing bright red liquid, to coagulating into a dense gel of darker value, and finally drying into a dark reddish brown crystalline powder. Allowing the paint to interact naturally delivers numerous outcomes. Ideas of veiling and revealing are explored through a process of layering paint of various consistencies, followed by a process of sanding away at those layers to uncover a surface of subtle intricacies.