Linnea Strid started to paint and draw as soon as she could hold a crayon in her hand. When growing up, she was handed a pile of ‘Learn-How-To-Paint-In-Oil’ books, but stubbornly ignored the written guidelines and instead tried to copy the paintings found in the books without any instruction. This persistent eagerness to be creative while doing things her own way hasn’t changed much over the years. Linnea currently lives in Sweden and enjoys creating lifelike, almost painfully over exposed portratis and with her most recent body of work, she playfully explores the complex relation between people and water, and how it can intensify all of the human emotions in one way or another.
Show statement from Linnea Strid:
I often get the question why I decided to start painting water in the first place, and what it all means to me. That can be a bit tricky to answer since I feel that I’ve gone a long way from my first water portrait. In the beginning, it was all just an experiment – a macabre fantasy – what if I depicted myself as drowned? How would it look? After that, I moved along to focusing on the small details in everyday routines: unsignificant actions involving water that we repeat mechanically a million times, over and over and over. Somehow,with time it has grown to something bigger and more important to me. I’ve always been obsessed by painting faces showing different emotions, and I’ve discovered water to be the perfect medium to convey this. Water can bring out so much emotions, and by opening the door ajar to our most private moments there are a lot of different stories waiting to be told. No day is exactly like the other, nothing in life is permanent and the water that surrounds us is just as fugitive as our feelings.
Nathan DeYoung‘s work stems from an inquisitive desire to connect with and understand those around him. DeYoung revels in people watching and trying to connect the human elements that bind us all together. However, because he is more or less offering his observations of others DeYoung finds a large amount of grey matter, where less is certain and more is implied. DeYoung’s work attempts to relate/conceptualize these observations and assumptions by using a mixture of delicate, soft painting and gestural frenzies of color and shape, with the hope that insight into others and their actions will enable a deeper understanding of his own self.
Show statement from Nathan DeYoung:
There is no end to what we can learn from each other. Our interactions with those that surround us can prove to be a telling tale, one that paints a complex portrait of who and what we are. Highlighting our senses, instincts, strengths, failings and desires ‘As It Falls Over You’ is a body focused on realization, acceptance, and observation.
Take a ‘Sneak Peek’ at the works for ’As It Falls Over You’ coming together here:
www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157626576781905/
Nathan DeYoung & Linnea Strid
‘As It Falls Over You’
Reception with the artists: Sat, December 10th 5-8PM
Exhibits on view: December 10th through December 30th, 2011
Thinkspace / 6009 Washington Blvd. in Culver City, CA / www.thinkspacegallery.com
