NAME: Carson Collins
BIRTH PLACE: Tulsa, OK, USA
BIRTH DATE: 11.25.53
BIOGRAPHY
I've been working on The Ocean Series for 30 years. I guess you could say that this conflation of a traditional marine sunset with a color-field painting, something that originally crossed my mind sometime back in 1978, has turned out to be a fairly fertile idea for me. Call it a Remodernist approach to the color-field tradition if you like, but I'm not trying to deconstruct anything, fit into any category, or prove any theories.
The central theme in my painting is the search for stillness, the sort of profound and lucid calm that is the result of meditation or contemplation; another main theme is the relationship between humans, the ocean, and the atmosphere. The intent of my work is to create an ambiance where the spiritual dimension of this relationship can be experienced.
Once in a while a commercial gallery will invite me to do an exhibition.
Solos include: Sarah Rentschler Gallery, NYC, NY, USA, 1980
Samadhi Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA 1982
Galleria Expressiva, San Jose, COSTA RICA, 1987
Norro Gruppen Konstgallerie, Stockholm, SWEDEN, 1991
Hodgell Gallery, Sarasota, FL, USA, 1994
Sekanina Contemporary Arts, Ferrara, ITALY, 2003
Elevator Gallery, Venice Beach (LA) California, USA, 2005.
I'm nomadic, never stay in one place for more than a year or two; don't have any possessions except for what I can carry on the iron birds. So far I've lived in 7 of the USA States and 6 other countries. I prefer warm places, but anywhere with a left coast will do - for a while.
When I'm not painting I mostly spend the time walking or sitting on the beach, staring at the ocean. I meditate. I surf when I can. I take part-time work when its available; have had quite a variety of dead-end, no-brainer jobs, some of which I liked. I've got an MD degree from the University of Texas that I've chosen to ignore. You might also say that I have the equivalent of a PhD in "coping".
