Andrew Saftel

Andrew Saftel, born in New Bedford, MA in 1959, earned his BFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1981. From there, he continued to hone his skills by displaying his abstract colorful pieces in galleries across the country, largely in the Southeast.

The layering of Saftel’s paintings is geological, a build-up of thoughts, emotions and physical interactions buried in layers of paint. Only the surface is visible, but everything underneath influences what the surface eventually becomes. Saftel uses color to represent time, the spectrum representing it’s change as the day moves on; this cyclic nature creates an atmosphere of hope and reassurance.

 “I combine historical imagery, references to the daily flow of events, and personal philosophical musings to create works that respond to contemporary culture. I want to prompt reflection of what is lost: the passenger train, the agricultural economy, the jazz era, the primeval forest. Images of the natural world, such as plants and animals, are paired with images of technology and progress to symbolize two still interdependent elements seeking a balance.”