Wilma Rifkin

Artist Statement:
My paintings and collages reflect my preoccupation with abstract forms and rhythms as well as my desire to derive meaning from visual experience. Painting on paper is a kind of high wire act, fraught with danger. Brushwork is an expression of both freedom and control. Black has tragic implications. Always there is a striving for balance, for harmony, toward integration of opposing elements. Tree forms and twining branches have long remained a subject of interest. The trees behind my backyard are boxelders. Tall and weedlike they struggle against the slope, the winds. Life is precarious.
Biography:
Wilma Rifkin has been painting for over 22 years. A native of New York City, she lived 18 years on Deer Isle, Maine before moving to North Adams in 2003. She has exhibited in galleries in Maine and was a member of the Deer Isle Artists Association. She continues to maintain her connection with the Turtle Gallery on Deer Isle.