…A FEW WORDS

This recent body of work, which includes both large pieces and small paintings on panel, narrates a three-year journey working with numbers. My mathematical skills are lacking; however, I discovered that working with numbers for extended periods can become a way to inhabit another mental world—one that is closer to fact, never lies, and is fundamentally abstract. These paintings feature many sequences, patterns, and serial shapes, all reminiscent of counting. I observe the work of architects and find it fascinating how they weave structure, space, and light. The utilization of space and ornament acknowledges a couple of aspects found in that discipline. As a painter, ornament serves as an organizing device.

Frequently, I think of the motto used by the Freemasons, “Ordo Ab Chao/Through Chaos Comes Order.” It takes me a long time to make sense of these paintings while I work on them because I get confused until I find the exact element that allows me to tie everything together and reach completion. I actually enjoy those moments of spatial confusion and hope that the future will bring more of them.

BIO

Tibi Geis was born in Venezuela in 1959. During the ‘80s attended the School of Arts at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, moving to the United States in 1982. Obtained a BFA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1985.

She graduated from San Jose State University with an MFA in Pictorial Arts in 1996.

In 1999, she moved to Fort Bragg with her husband, where she has resided ever since.