Beneath the Surface

About Beneath the Surface

This contemporary abstract mixed media composition is geometric in form.

The bold, unique and complex artwork of Lucy Maki challenges the traditional approach to painting. The New Mexico artist has been influenced by modernist abstraction, cubism, and even surrealism. For decades she has explored a distinctive visual language that incorporates mixed media, geometric shapes and architectural elements.
Her shaped canvases like Beneath the Surface are an eclectic mix of oil paint and wood framing on canvas—they are both paintings and sculptures. Within the frame of this work, lyrical gestural brushstrokes in green and a creamy white play against a teal backdrop. Thick black patterns framed in geometric shapes add structure. The wood frame of this piece extends beyond the artwork itself extending the picture plane--a signature of Maki’s work.

“I am fascinated with the New Mexico’s 1930s Transcendental Painting Group’s belief that the most important role of art was to provide access to a realm of knowing beyond ordinary consciousness. Taking this a step further is the idea of an invisible framework for existence and that out of an apparent chaos there is an unknown order that can be tapped. Each eccentrically shaped painting/construction is a demonstration and reflection of that hypothesis.”
Lucy Maki

Lucy Maki received her MA and MFA from the University of New Mexico, finishing in 1982. Maki’s artwork has been exhibited internationally--in the US, Mexico and Canada. It can be found in collections at the Albuquerque Museum and the Museum of New Mexico.