Nathan DeYoung is featured with a ‘Profile’ piece in the new issue of Juxtapoz (with Audrey Kawasaki on the cover). Big props to DeYoung for this nice bit of recognition. Please be sure to swing by our current exhibit to catch his work in person before the show comes down off view this coming weekend.
‘As It Falls Over You’ will be on view through Fri, December 30th. We’ll be open this coming Wed, Dec. 28th through Fri, Dec. 30th from 1 to 6PM each day. These will be your final days to view our current exhibits.
“Inspired by human emotions and the tedious details in everyday routine, Linnea Strid creates hyper-realistic oil paintings depicting the insignificant actions involving water that we mechanically repeat in any given day. In ‘As It Falls Over You’, Linnea explores the darker side of the human psyche conveyed through water, thereby opening the door to our most private moments and personal stories.”– Platinum Cheese
Nathan DeYoung 'Porcelain' - acrylic on MDF panel (2011)
“DeYoung’s first solo exhibit with the gallery highlights concepts of strength and desire via flawless renderings of feminine allure saturated with vibrant hues. This latest body of work also offers DeYoung’s first abstract works–intense, palpable energy on display in every brushstroke.” – Hi-Fructose
All exhibits on view through Fri, December 30th. We’ll be open this coming Wed, Dec. 28th through Fri, Dec. 30th from 1 to 6PM each day. These will be your final days to view our current exhibits. Please note we’ll be closed from Dec. 31st through Jan. 6th for installation of our upcoming shows from Esao Andrews and Allison Sommers which open on Sat, Jan. 7th.
Linnea Strid at work in her studio in SwedenLinnea Strid "No Looking Back" - oil on wood panel (2011)
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.
Linnea Strid "In The End, There's Only Persistence Left" - oil on wood panel (2011)
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 at work inside his studio in Southern CaliforniaNathan DeYoung "Warpaint II - Reflections In - Looping Loose Air" - Acrylic on MDF board (2011)
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.
Nathan DeYoung "Porcelain" - Acrylic on MDF Board (2011)
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.
Nathan DeYoung 'Scene 1: As The Landscape Blurred (The Memories Shown Through It)' - Acrylic on MDF panel
’5 Years / 5 Questions’ with Nathan DeYoung
Please tell us a little bit about your piece for Thinkspace’s ‘5 Year Anniversary Show’ this November?
My piece is an acrylic painting on MDF panel. Conceptually it’s about trying to hold on to something you’ve had, and the effects that has on your ability to pursue a desired future. I write a poem for each piece and the poem for this painting is below.
Scene 1: As The Landscape Blurred (The Memories Shown Through It)
Blue and green share in yellow gold and aged brown,
mixing the wisdom and smiles
of all that lies below and across from you.
Held deep in the familiar lines of your hands
is the scene we smother,
fractions of warm air, forgotten folds and imagined creases.
All shimmering and brilliant we stand,
where the smiles grow in the deep and foreign roots
of those circular feet, that blur everything. and remember nothing.
What were you doing back in 2005 when Thinkspace started?
In 2005 I was a senior in high school that was looking forward to graduating. After school I was working a couple of part time jobs and painting whenever I could.
Name 5 things you can’t live without in your studio?
1. TONS of drinking water.
2. My iPod
3. Heatgun (used to dry paint)
4. My two overhead lights (can’t work with just one, need both of em’)
5. My collection of assorted beanies and headbands to keep my hair out of my face while painting
Where do you hope to be 5 years from now?
I hope to be working as an artist full time. I hope I’m still living in San Diego county because I love it here. I hope I’m wiser and better spoken. I hope I’m still pursuing growth and challenging myself, and I hope that I am still very, very grateful, and appreciative of the life I have.
What have you got coming up in 2011?
I’m hiding for most of next year so I can build work for my two person show with Thinkspace Gallery late in 2011 alongside Linnea Strid!
Look for two amazing new works from DeYoung as part of this December’s ‘The New Realism’ show opening on Sat, Dec. 11th. Look for a sneak peek at his works for the show coming together via the link below: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157625394622610/
‘5 Year Anniversary Show’
Group exhibition showcasing 49 artists representing our past, present and future with a featured installation from Johnny ‘KMNDZ’ Rodriguez
LAST DAY TO VIEW: This Sat, Nov. 27th from 1-6PM
(* please note we are closed this Thurs and Fri for Thanksgiving)
