Lily's Treasure Box

Concept

"I approach painting similar to the way a writer records their thoughts in a journal. The “action” behind my abstract methods truly reflects my personality and emotions, leaving behind a story but without any words. Action painting involves non-traditional techniques, such as etching, scraping, splattering and moving paint instead of the traditional use of a brush. My creative process often begins by staring at an empty canvas and harnessing my energy and sentiments. This elevates particular colors, movements, shapes and tools into my consciousness. In some cases, that dance with the surface is playful (for example like Clint Eastwood staring down a gunslinger in a Spaghetti western) and at other times it is emotionally charged (like thinking of someone who is suffering or remembering someone who has passed). In all of my works there are both elements of randomness and design. These aspects parallel key truths in our lives, such as the randomness of where we are born, who are our role models, religion, socioeconomic status, the quality of education, healthcare, war, peace and so on.

While there may be elements of my work which invoke comparisons in style to well known artists such as Gerhard Richter or Jackson Pollock, my most impactful influences actually came from outside of the art world. Most notably, the random and over-exaggerated movements of my favorite physical comedians/performers (such as Peter Sellers, Bruce Lee & Victor Borge) inspired my “action” techniques."

​Seker created the playful moniker “Claxon du Soleil” for his art, which loosely translated from French means 'blast from the sun.' This idea came to him while recalling one of the infamous achievements of Lebanon in The Guinness Book of World Records: ‘the greatest frequency of street honks (horns) per minute per square mile.’ In coming full circle, Tony feels that “Claxon du Soleil" captures both his essence and style while also acknowledging the origin of his artistic expression. His paintings are a loud and colorful blast of expression or joie de vivre, a sprinkling of humor, and above all, a tapestry illustrating how we are all truly connected, yet randomly separated.