We first heard about Allison Shockley from an artist we already worked with – and whose eye and artistic opinion we greatly trust.When we first viewed her work (out of the back of a van in a parking lot!) we were immediately intrigued.Her paintings at first struck us as random geometric shapes swirling on canvas.Further inspection revealed a couple of things:one, Shockley’s paintings are anything but random; and second, she uses the age-old process of encaustic wax to create texture, layers and transparent luminosity.
Shockley explains: “In the natural world, as well as in our lives, there is delicate balance between chaos and order. What at first appears to be random or chaotic is often a part of a larger repeating pattern or structure.Our eye is so used to pattern recognition that I believe we perceive what we see as somehow right when the perfect balance chaos and order is achieved."
As Shockley develops the layers of texture and media in her paintings, she finds a continuous push and pull between order and chaos.She feels a painting is complete when unpredictable areas keep the eye interested but remain contained in a structured, harmonious whole.
Shockley received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Atlanta College of Art and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University.Her work is part of collections around the Southeast, including Delta Airlines, Omni, the American Continental University and Comdisco, Inc.
