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When we go to see a gallery exhibit of an artist, there’s usually an artist statement to greet us.

What is the purpose of the artist statement? I think the answer gets to the heart of art: intention. Whenever an artist starts to work on a canvas, he has to decide what colors to use, what type of forms to use, what type of brush, what type of canvas, what type of form he should use, etc., All of these decisions are made from a central point of understanding: their intention. The decision to choose this brush over that means there is a reason. There is a reason they chose this over that.

That reason gets to the heart of art. This particular person has a particular way of saying something. They say something for a reason. What is the reason of their art? That’s the purpose of the artist statement. The purpose of the artist statement is to help us understand the meaning of their work.

Why did the artist create that work? What is this artist trying to communicate? That’s what we want to know. And then, with the knowledge of their reason for making the work (which we get from the artist statement), we have the context of the meaning.

Why do artists have more than one piece in a gallery exhibit?

The artist displays more than one piece of their body of work because one piece of their work is a single expression of an overall message. It’s one part of the puzzle. When all the pieces of the work are put together, there’s a context or meaning to the work. There’s an overall message. When we look at the body of work that an artists produces, we start to understand the message. We have an insight into the mind of the artist. And that insight changes are own minds. We come away with a different understanding of the world, and we’re richer for it.

That’s why the statement is important: the artist statement gives us insight into the message.

So, what is your artist statement? What is your meaning? I think we can even have an artist statement for our own life.

Article written by Daniel Vineyard