DIANA BAHR

Chandeliers is a series of large-scale photography-inspired oil paintings featuring the undersides of various types of chandeliers. Shifting the change in perspective from the common side view of the object to an observation of the fixtures as they appear from below, realism moves towards abstraction and the literal becomes conceptual. As with the history of chandeliers, function gives way to form: greater importance is placed on design and pattern. Enough symmetry, and the eye and mind are pleased; the world feels ordered. Too much symmetry and we are psychologically bored. Using a reconfiguration of the chandelier, I was interested in exploring ideas about repetition and pattern, as found in mandalas, illuminated manuscripts, architecture, and nature, and why we are both excited and challenged by the beautifully symmetrical.

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