Carlene Frances’s paintings draw from the powerful Asian aesthetics, a striving for serenity in a world inundated by input; conscious acts of eliminating the unnecessary so the necessary may speak.  Through this inspiration the work finds its own apartness; its own peace. Her work is influenced by the great Color field painters like Rothko, Olitski, and Stella. The work seems to have an inner light.  That is not accidental; Each piece grows from as many as 15-30 layers of transparent oil glazes that give the surface luminosity and depth.

The series Seijaku (say-ee-jah-koo) is the Japanese word meaning tranquility in the midst of daily turmoil.

Seijaku isn’t an escape from the world that surrounds us.  Rather, it is the seeking of serenity in the midst of chaos; the finding of the true inner quiet as the world churns around us.

Frances has always been fascinated by the dichotomy between order and chaos- especially in todays’s constant barrage of media and technology.  The use of binary code in this series is not about the code itself.  Rather its distortion and randomness are symbols of the tumult from which we move towards peace, order and simplicity.

In Seijaku She suggests to the viewer that the journey to serenity can start with a break from the routines of an active life.  A move towards order, simplicity and balance.  A discovery of the calm pond at the heart of us.  A way to stillness..