SOLDIERS SERIES

For an artist whose work in the past two decades could be described as colorful, abstract, mixed media assemblages with primary geometric themes, the Entropy series marks a return to figurative content for Paiement. Echoing some of his earlier drawings and etchings, figures and faces are the centerpiece of the 'Aftermath' paintings - and element of humanity now superimposed against a backdrop of his well-proportioned abstractions. Beautifully etched linoleum cuts create the figurative details, printed directly onto multi-layed panels that incorporate everything from oil paint to wire mesh. As a father of a son who turned 18, this time of war takes on a different hue for Paiement. Reflecting on the fact that even a man of great bravado and machismo can be reduced to a vulnerable child by the power of war, Paiement seeks to convey the vulnerability and duality in his characters. Partial figures floating amongst abstracted color fields speak of leaving the human realm behind, and mirror the transformation endlessly occurring in his artistic process. Addressing what he continually strives to achieve in each work, Paiement states, "the attempt is always to delve into the unknown, to delve deep into the psyche and hope one has sense enough to know when one's reached a certain combination of rawness and artistic beauty to give value to the result."