Morocco: Colors and Shapes

Joyce McCarten
Curated by Deborah Addison Coburn and Miriam Keeler

Wednesday, May 24th - Saturday, June 17th, 2023

Paintings made from earth pigments found in the dry-river beds in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. All abstract paintings made on site.

“I made these paintings in a studio situated in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. With my group from Canada, I walked the dry riverbeds, or stopped our driver by the side of the road, to collect earth pigments. We took the rocks back to our makeshift studio and pounded them, first with hammer and rocks and then with mortar and pestle and finally sifted them until they were a fine powder. We combined the powders with acrylic medium and they became paint.

The process of putting my hands into the dirt and prying out the brighter rocks was just what I needed to begin to make minimal paintings of the colors and shapes that have been in my mind since my last, non-painting trip to Morocco, 15 years earlier.

Colors and shape in the landscape have informed my work for over 40 years. Honest response to personal search is my driving imperative. Working abstractly makes me continue the search. These small paintings were made very quickly, with simple structures, and with the idea of responding to my surroundings with as true a response as I could make.”