Kirsten Brand -Flower Boats #3 - Acrylic and botanical specimens on Canvas, 36 x 36
Kirsten Brand - Flower Boats # 2, Acrylic, with botanical specimens on Canvas, 36 X 48
Kirsten is a good friend of mine who is having an upcoming art show; here is the information on her show followedby her artist statement.
"Regeneration"
Opening Reception Monday, January 26, 7-9 pm
The Gallery at the MAC, Lower Space, McPherson Playhouse, #3 Centennial Square, Victoria, BC
January 26 through March 16
Gallery hours during performances or by appointment (250) 361-0800
Kirsten Brand
Artist Statement
I am a Victoria born painter and have been studying and producing art since early childhood.
I believe nature has a natural harmony. The beauty, profusion and growth rhythms of flowers and plant life create a visual music for me. I use bold colour and floral and plant forms to convey the vitality, energy, and movement of the life force.
The human figure appears in some of my work to symbolize our infinite love and fascination for, as well as dependence upon botanical life.
In my current work I take real pieces of nature in the form of dried, pressed, plants from their outdoor landscapes where a chaos of texture, colour, and pattern reign supreme, and place them in an abstract setting of painterly texture, colour, and pattern.
I am intrigued by the play between something real and abstract both working together to create a work.
The idea of "regeneration" applies because I would like the viewer to see nature again and in a different way, connecting physically – hence the texture – giving them a sense of feeling the touch of the surface in order to heighten awareness and joy about what is given us.