China Heights presents the Australian debut solo exhibition from Lena Gustafson (US).
These paintings are technically informed by her background in preparing images for screenprints. Her paintings depict scenes of transformation often with figures or plants merging with their environment. Primary themes in Gustafson’s work include body memory, repression, sequential evolution, and reciprocity.
"When I paint the figure I try to focus on isolated movement as a way to communicate emotion. Many of the subjects in this body of work simultaneously inhabit the interior and exterior spaces of a body. This speaks both to how the spirit can feel larger than the boundaries of the body and also to how our private inner worlds have an affect on the rest of the world around us. I am more interested in conveying the experience of living within a body than the observation of someone else. To me it is important to have the figures I paint in some sort of motion. It’s rare for anything to be fixed, still, or fit into one category, so I try to show multiple states of being in one frame.
The grids and non-figurative paintings serve as a reminder of time, observation and evolution. Representing the figure has always been central for me because I believe the body itself is a vessel for all information; it's many complexities and contradictions." - Lena Gustafson
Lena Gustafson (b. San Francisco 1989) received her BFA from the Art Institute of Boston in Illustration and Art Therapy. In 2011 she co-founded Night Diver Press with her partner Peter Calderwood. Together they use silkscreen and other alternative printing techniques to create and publish multiples in the form of prints, books, zines, and monotypes. They have exhibited work at Art Book Fairs in Mexico, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area.
Gustafson presented her third solo exhibition “Pushing Up Daisies” at Part 2 Gallery in Oakland 2019. Some recent groups shows include New Image Art (Los Angeles, CA), The Hole NYC (New York, NY), The Fog Fair (San Francisco, CA), China Heights (Sydney Australia), SFMOMA (San Francisco, CA), and the Headlands Spring Auction (San Francisco, CA).
- Posted in 2021
- Tagged Lena Gustafson