Disrupted Realism curated by John Seed opens at Principle Gallery Alexandria on September 17th! The show will consist of fourteen artists and today we’re going to introduce five of the participating artists: Anne Harris, Catherine Kehoe, Stanka Kordic, Aiden Kringen, and Maya Kulenovic.
Click here to view the entire exhibition! If you’re on a mobile device, click here.
Anne Harris
“I’ve been painting and drawing the same freaky self-portrait for thirty years.”
Anne Harris, pg. 87, Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World
John Seed: How and why does your work disrupt or deviate from traditional realism?
Anne: I can’t even engage with the term “traditional realism.” Painting is fiction. Invention. That’s what interests me. I do, however, love illusion.
Catherine Kehoe
“I follow my interests wherever they lead.”
Catherine Kehoe, pg. 163, Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World
John Seed: How and why does your work disrupt or deviate from traditional realism?
Catherine: I never like the word “realism” and do not identify as a realist painter, disruptive or otherwise. I start with a subject that is before my eyes and respond to it in paint. Mostly I remain true to what is there, only to discover how odd and surprising the appearance of things becomes when one puts aside the kind of seeing that helps us navigate in the world. There is another kind of seeing that kicks in when I am painting. It is less about things and more about the surprising relationships between things.
Stanka Kordic
“My paintings present a layered conversation of what is felt, observed, and revealed through the boundaries that figurative representation provides.”
Stanka Kordic, pg. 126, Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World
John Seed: How and why does your work disrupt or deviate from traditional realism?
Stanka: They start from straight-up realism as far as the figure goes in the first layer, with no conceptual thoughts as far as what I hope to achieve. I am primarily process driven. However, my time working with the model does affect things. I prefer using photos of that shoot, in order to better access my memory in bits and pieces on an emotional level, as well for the occasional logistics reasons. That particular human has an impact on the work, even though their exterior likeness may often change.
Then comes life with all its complexities and how that filters through me energetically. What and if anything gets “disrupted” is dependent on the moment and how I feel it. Each pass on the painting is different. Completion is agreed upon from not only a place of balance design wise, but from that intuitive space, using whatever means to get there. But that too can change. I have often removed the final varnish and come back to the piece after some time. It drives me batty but has frequently been a positive result.
Aiden Kringen
“I strive for beauty through controlling and organizing chaos.”
Aiden Kringen, pg. 167, Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World
John Seed: How and why does your work disrupt or deviate from traditional realism?
Aiden: I’ve always had an interest in traditional realism, but within my work, I’ve strived to pare it down and reassemble it along a geometric framework that fits within a modern context. For me, the process of painting a portrait or figure involves balancing between reality and abstraction, down to each single feature of the face or hand. I dissect the figure using line work, dividing between tone and texture, and then reconnect the pieces along invisible plans throughout the painting. My goal as an artist is to encapsulate idealized beauty through a cracked or broken lens. I feel as though I have a respect for the pure and beautiful human essence while accepting that it is imperfect, and therefore depict it through fractured line work.
Maya Kulenovic
“I never try to connect my personal life with my paintings. I believe that the connection between personality and life of the artist with his work is inevitable, and that it should be left as a subliminal process. My paintings are inspired by what I see, and if something inspires me, this is usually because it contains a larger, universal truth as well as connection to my own life. So all of my images bear scars of my own experiences as a participant, but also as an observer of both history and the present, who is trying to make sense of it all on rational, emotional, and philosophical levels. Every one of my paintings contains different aspects of everything that I know and have experienced, expressed either as a presence in the image, or as an absence.”
Atlas Magazine Interview with Maya Kulenovic (2012)
Save the Date!
Please email any inquiries to info@principlegallery.com or reach out to request the exhibition preview. Follow along on the blog and social media as we prepare for the opening of Disrupted Realism! We hope you can join us for the reception on September 17t=h 6-8:30pm.
Click here to visit our website to learn more about the show and other upcoming events.
Principle Gallery 