Bad Money 30x24" Oil on canvas by Hall Groat II on Exhibit at New York Art Collection

In its rawest state, the work is a Baroque meditation on the fugitive nature of time and the innate beauty in the objective. Its simplicity is the basis for its psychological impact on the viewer and austere and transcendent formal value. Painting has the potential to reveal the extraordinary within the mundane and overlooked. Through the use of metaphor, I often strive to incorporate various social and political issues with diverse still life forms that are connected with both our consumer-driven culture and natural environment. Quirky associations, involving the machine, brand identity, food, monetary currency and nature, may serve as icons of consumerism, invoke hunger, or question the duality of nature and the machine. Painting that merges modern art discoveries with a classical aesthetic, often pushes me toward subjects that blur the boundaries between the familiar and the unconventional.

As a child I explored the world through collage, and was fascinated with how geometric shapes of paper could be assembled into abstract configurations. The compositions were simple at first, however later took on a sense of depth and richness as other materials were added to obscure forms. The collages often ended up looking quite mystical, which may have been a result of countless hours spent out-of-doors, and my fascination with the changes that took place in nature over time and distance. Now as a perceptual painter, I find that my strongest work emerges when elements from these formative years mesh with the present, resulting in art that may pose more questions than provide answers.