Tracy Sweeney

Artist Statement

“It’s intolerable to be stopped by a frame’s edge.” — Clyfford Still

In order to build the layered surfaces within my work, I often begin by forgetting how to be an artist. I move beyond the brush, working instead with tools more commonly found on a building site—scrapers, chisels, grout, and floor brushes. My thinking drifts toward concrete walls, metal, and faded posters; the residue of human presence, of time, of disruption.

This instinct to construct and deconstruct remains central to my practice, but it has expanded beyond the canvas. Today, my work moves fluidly between painting, watercolour, and site-specific installation—particularly within public and healthcare environments. Each context demands a different sensitivity, yet the core approach remains the same: to disrupt expectation, to test material, and to uncover new visual languages.

I think of myself as a disrupter within these spaces—introducing abstraction, texture, and emotional resonance into environments that are often structured, clinical, or controlled. Whether working with dense, excavated surfaces or with the fluid transparency of watercolour, I am always negotiating between construction and collapse, precision and accident.

Surfaces are built layer by layer, then partially dismantled, allowing unintended relationships of colour, form, and texture to emerge. Familiar outlines dissolve into abstraction; forms break down and reconfigure. Quiet passages within the work offer moments of rest, while adjacent textures invite a more restless engagement.

Each piece, whether on canvas or integrated into architecture, should feel as though it extends beyond its physical boundaries. The viewer is invited into that expanded space—into a shifting sense of reality that is both unstable and immersive.

It continues to both frustrate and excite me to work in this way. Each accident holds potential. Each work must be pushed to the brink of collapse before it can be resolved. Rules are broken, reformed, and broken again. This tension—between control and surrender, disruption and cohesion—remains the driving force behind my practice.

Tracy Sweeney, January 2026