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Linda King

Memento

March 1 - April 30, 2023

LINDA KING

My paintings are visually abstract but reference nature, contemporary culture and a sense of time and memory. The paintings are created with layers of poured paint, that are then edited down to an essential form or specific interaction. I combine very fluid movements of paint with hard-edged shapes and flat intense backgrounds, constantly shifting the viewer's eye until shape becomes negative and space becomes shape. My interests lie with the juxtaposition of boundaries that subvert perception.

The pours are multiple colors and different viscosities. The colors are derived from personal experience, what I see, what I react to. Sometimes they reference nature's colors; algae and moss, a storm coming in, burnt ground, the leaves changing. Other times, the colors are chosen as a visual response to the urban environment, contemporary fashion, billboards and advertisements. Color is a very strong focus of my work. I try to approach color as a means of discovery. This means that sometimes the colors picked are subtle and quiet, and other times very bold and assertive.

The pours are one component of creating the painting. The other major aspect is the editing of the pour. In my earlier work, when the pour was finished, taken as far as it could go, when it felt complete, I then looked to see what was essential for creating a specific mood or visual response. I used vintage ceramic and metal platters as stencils to edit the background and create different shapes. I placed the platters down on the areas that I wanted to save, traced around them and then painted out everything else. The platters relate to plants, nature, and biomorphic forms.

The earlier paintings I developed into a series that I ironically call "The Dining Room Series". The pours related to epic, romantic land/sky scapes, similar to Turner or the Baroque Period. The border acts as an ornate frame and the background refers to wall paper. The "wall paper" ranges from Victorian pattern to Sci-fi retro images. I was interested in juxtaposing the "idea" of romantic landscape with a more contemporary setting, exploring concepts of beauty, perception and cultural relationships.

The more recent paintings also use pours along with stencils/outlines from found objects but are developed in a back and forth process of adding and subtracting, pouring and sanding. These paintings seem to be about transition, transformation, memory, and time. There is a sense of the microscopic and the infinite, order and chaos, beginning and ending.

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Momento

Paintings

Journey, 2020

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 60", NFS

At Either End, 2020

acrylic on canvas, 36" x 36", $4,750 (includes $250 shipping)

Untitled, 2017

acrylic on canvas, 36" x 36", $4,750 (includes $250 shipping)

Inward Constellation, 2020

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 60", NFS

A Secret Hidden, 2017

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 60", NFS

Carbon, 2017

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 60", NFS

Within, 2020

acrylic on canvas, 30" x 30", $3,750 (includes $250 shipping)

Impetus, 2020

acrylic on canvas, 30" x 30", $3,750 (includes $250 shipping)

Double, 2019

acrylic on canvas, 36" x 36", $4,750 (includes $250 shipping)

Inside/Out, 2018

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 72", NFS

Departure, 2022

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20", $2,750 (includes $250 shipping)

The Distance Around, 2022

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20", $2,750 (includes $250 shipping)

Entwined Nebula, 2020

acrylic on canvas, 36" x 36", $4,750 (includes $250 shipping)

Transpire, 2023

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20", $2,750 (includes $250 shipping)

Seeing Almost Everything, 2019

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 72", NFS

Interval of Time, 2018

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 72", NFS

Close to Sound, 2023

acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20", $2,750 (includes $250 shipping)

A Secret Understanding, 2019

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 72", NFS

Beneath the Surface, 2019

acrylic on canvas, 60" x 72", NFS

Promise, 2020

acrylic on canvas, 36" x 36", $4,750 (includes $250 shipping)

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Momento

Books

Along with my practice of making large scale paintings I also make numerous paper pieces and fine art books. I consider the books finished pieces in their own right and do not consider them sketch books or thoughts for paintings. The sequence of the pages, the relationship between the images is important. The previous page influences what comes next.

As of now there are two series for my books; altered books and books about color and shape. The altered books are found books that I have painted out much of the text and have left what I find interesting, often re-contextualizing the meaning. I then collage and ink in new images, creating a new dynamic between words and images. One of the books, "Lack of Transparency" is from a child psychologist writing on children's issues of abuse, domestic violence, poverty and other troubling problems. She uses the children's art to explain her theories or exemplify the problems. The book is from around the 1950's and many ideas are outdated. I have blacked out much of the writing and left some of the quotes from the children's paintings. I have then collaged in images and inked in words that reinforce the ideas or create new possibilities for interpretation. Currently, I have five of these altered books.

The series of books on color and shape are mostly made from handmade books, using fine art papers, hand sewing and binding. I did not make these books and when finished they do not not fit within the traditional sense of "fine art" books. I have altered them enough that they are quite often very toad like, too fat for the spine, messy and look like a distant cousin to the precious book. Most of the pages are collage using a range of handmade paper, found paper and vintage book illustrations. A few have painted shapes and colors.

"Lack of Transparency"

mixed media, 170 pages, 9.5" x 6.5", Not for Sale