Rob Bondgren

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Artist Statement:

My work explores perceptions of sexuality, identity, desire and fantasy. Using both representational and abstract forms, some admittedly subtler than others, I seek to subvert fixed pictorial structures and the stereotypic images with which we are bombarded in today's relentless image driven culture. The lines between representation and abstraction often become blurred and spatial relationships become distorted as graphic design elements and painted biomorphic forms are contrasted with photographic sources, figurative and landscape references. I am particularly interested
in exploring a visual language that produces a shifting world of forms that are nearly nameable, morphed or undone. Regardless of medium, I employ collage as a primary image making strategy. The process of cutting, altering and re-contextualizing found and invented images directly mirrors the methods by which we compare, contrast and construct our self-images against the standard types we find in mass media.