Stephanie Visser, an artist who paints the invisible, invites us into a world where the tangible meets the ethereal. Her art explores the delicate balance between our physical surroundings and our inner complexities, weaving together moments etched in memory and hidden depths that remain unspoken.
Visser’s artistic philosophy resonates with a quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “Behind all seen things lies something vaster; everything is but a path, a portal or a window opening on something other than itself.” This captures the essence of her work—a journey into the unseen and the vastness beneath the surface.
Visser’s creative process is thorough. She uses acrylic mixed media, constructing each piece layer by layer. Through translucent washes, blended hues, and intricate textures, she builds a visual language that speaks to the emotions. Her connection with her subjects is evident in every brushstroke—a dance of light, a whisper of fragrance, a vivid palette of colors, an evoked emotion, or a memory sparked by captivating beauty.
One of her works, “Cora’s Garden,” is part of the “Echoes” series. This series delves into the definition of an echo—”a sound or a series of sounds caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface back to the listener: a close parallel or repetition of an idea, feeling, style or event.”
“Cora’s Garden” is born from the reflections that rebound internally from Visser’s life experiences. These experiences, both monumental and ordinary, are tied to memories that ring over and over again in her mind, emotions, and body. This piece, in particular, was influenced by her visit to her family in the Netherlands. It is based on the reflective echoes that are still bubbling up from that trip. Although quieter now, as echoes do fade, every time she thinks of them, she can still feel and hear the faint reverberations.
Visser had wondered for some time just how much her work would be influenced by standing on the native ground of her father and grandfather. Her father was the first of her family born in the United States, and she visited her cousins in the Netherlands to reconnect with her DNA. Standing on ancient ground, echoes bubbled up through the earth and into her soul and psyche. Feelings and memories poured onto the canvas over and over again like an echo of feeling that is subtle, quiet, and reverberating, fading only slightly with the passage of time. They are like ripples on water, a buildup that swept through her life and moved aside all imagined walls of resistance with a sonorous chord.
Visser likens this experience to the famous sustained chord from the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album in the “Day in the Life” final piece. Nerve endings were regenerated in her, passing along intricate and internal memories nudged by a quality of light, a smell, a color, or an emotion from a peculiar beauty in some object or vista. These are mind photographs that reflect sunlight and shadows, stillness and movement, sound and quiet.
Visser’s work transcends the visible, inviting viewers into a realm where the tangible and intangible converge. Rooted in both the natural and ethereal, her art explores the intricate interplay between our physical surroundings and inner complexities. Each piece is a journey into the unseen, a meditation on the vastness that lies beneath the surface.
Her approach to art is not just about what we see but about what we feel. The layers of acrylic mixed media create a depth that draws viewers in, inviting them to explore their own emotions and memories. The translucent washes and blended hues resonate on an emotional level, creating a connection between the viewer and the artwork.
Visser’s paintings are a dance of light and color, capturing moments that are both fleeting and eternal. They evoke a sense of nostalgia, a longing for something just out of reach. Her work is a reminder that there is always more to see, more to feel, and more to discover.
In “Cora’s Garden,” for example, Visser captures the essence of her visit to the Netherlands. The piece is a reflection of her experiences and memories, the echoes of which continue to resonate within her. The colors and textures of the painting evoke the landscapes of her family’s homeland, the light and shadows capturing the essence of the place and its significance to her.
Visser’s work is deeply personal yet universally relatable. It speaks to the human experience, the moments and memories that shape who we are. Her art is a portal to another world, a window into the unseen and the unspoken. Through her paintings, she invites us to explore our own inner landscapes, to connect with the emotions and memories that lie just beneath the surface.
In her exploration of the invisible, Stephanie Visser offers us a glimpse into the vastness that lies beyond the seen. Her art is a testament to the power of memory and emotion, a journey into the depths of the human experience. Each piece is a reflection of her own journey, a meditation on the interplay between the tangible and the intangible, the seen and the unseen.
