By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — When linguist Morris Swadesh traveled the world in the 1940s and 50s compiling a list of 207 so-called "universal words" found in every language, he discovered a surprising omission on the color spectrum: while the world's nations all had words for green, yellow and red — some didn't have a word for the color blue.
That omission sparked the curiosity of NoLIta-based painter Debora Warner, and led to a her new exhibit at Chelsea's Leo Konig Inc. Projekte gallery, "The Full Story: Debora Warner."
"I'm very attracted to things that are reduced to the lowest common denominator," said Warner, 39. In the Swadesh List, she found words "that are essential to our ability to communicate and provide concrete descriptions of the environment, the body, as well as social systems."
Warner set words against abstract designs in a simple palette of black, white, grey and beige. In some works, she combined a set of words with related meanings, such as "blood, bone, fat, guts, skin and meat," painting the words so that they overlap with one another to reflect the density and layering of these parts of the body.
But in other paintings, words with broader meanings, such as, "if," "woman" and "think," stand alone.
The manner in which Warner put those words to paper is what particularly fascinated Gallery Director Elizabeth Balogh.
"You sometimes have to struggle to see what the word is. They are literally scratched into the surface of the paint with a palette knife," she said. "To me, it seems like a visual expression of the struggle to find the words to communicate an idea."
For Warner, creating art that centers around words rather than images is a long-term passion. In addition to the paintings, she has over the years explored communication through audio projects and sculpture.
"Language is something which has its own limitations," Warner said, "but it serves as a record of our shared experience."
"The Full Story: Debora Warner" is on view through October 23 at Leo Konig Inc. Projecte, 541 W. 23rd Street.
