THE FORD SERIES

Artist Statement

Inspired by the depth and nuance of the Japanese language's many words for grief and ghosts, I embarked on a series of abstract paintings that explore the complex, multifaceted human experience with loss. I have long been moved by how the language conveys the intricacies of mourning—its ability to articulate the unseen and often unspoken aspects of grief. Through this work, I seek to illuminate the profound impact of death on the living, translating the intricacies of mourning into visual form. The series is a study of how the wild and delicate process of active grieving reshapes our relationship with ourselves and the people around us.

In The Ford series, I explore the paradox of the human condition—the fragility and resilience that define our experience with grief. The biomorphic shapes, random lines, and interconnected patterns in these paintings are a visual map of the paths we take voluntarily, the blocks thrown in our way and the paths that are forced upon us.

Much like the pinball, we are endlessly propelled by forces beyond our control, tracing the marks of our journey as we ricochet between moments of impact, loss, and recovery. The pinball moves, some times off-track, but always in motion. We rail against, cleave to, and bounce from the stimuli placed in our path, leaving behind a trail of marks that tell the story of our passage. Life’s circuits of grief, ruin, and rebirth unfold with each impact of tool against canvas. The marks I make are traces of this struggle—emotional, physical, and at times, psychological. There is chaos in this motion, but also a sense of perseverance, as we move through the world, inevitably imprinted by the forces that shape us.

Working with an action-painting process, I embrace free association—letting instinct and impulse guide me as I create. The marks and patterns that emerge are unplanned, yet imbued with intention. The act of painting becomes a catharsis, a raw and untamed exploration of loss, grief, mourning and the search for renewal. Every line, every form, is a negotiation between cataclysm and creation, between letting go and holding on.

The Ford series is not only a meditation on the marks we leave behind but also a testament to the indomitable force that keeps us moving, even as we are battered by forces larger than ourselves. In this body of work, I invite the viewer to reflect upon these interconnected stories of grief and turbulence: to witness the tensions between fragility and strength, the interplay between the chaos of destruction and the quiet potential of rebirth.

Through this process, I aim to capture the universal experience of grief while honoring the many cultural expressions of loss that have shaped my experience and guided my emotional journey.

— Macaulay Woods, December 2024

For my mom and my son Leo Marvelle.