San Diego artist Anna Stump began her Large Nudes body of work while she was a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey. The artist would paint in her spacious Turkish studio, enlarging 20-minute gouache studies into formalized works. Each painting was started upside-down, then turned to the side, the other side, and finally finished upright.
For her solo exhibition at Sparks Gallery, Stump returns to this central practice with an interesting twist. In addition to the traditional live models she works from, Stump has begun incorporating found imagery as source material, focusing specifically on deconstructing the male gaze present in the photographic imagery of vintage men’s magazines.
The artist presents a collection of small studies alongside new large scale works through May 13th and will also lead two live painting events at the gallery.
OPENING RECEPTION: SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018 – SIX TO NINE PM
// Exhibition on view MAR 18, 2017 – MAY 13, 2018
“The nude is the oldest of my visual obsessions: I’ve been painting the human body for over 30 years. I was a choreographer and dancer in my 20s, heavily influencing my understanding of how the body moves through and rests in space. I’m also a longtime feminist, and hope my work serves as a critique of the male gaze.
Besides working from live models, I’ve recently begun examining 1970s men’s magazines. Early Playboy images depicting the ‘girl next door,’ with her tan lines, surgically un-enhanced body, and feathered bangs, have influenced my work formally and conceptually. I use the awkward innocence of the pre-Photoshop poses to expose power plays between the consumer and the consumed. My intent is that expressionistic brush strokes and non-referential color remove all hints of the pornographic (titillation?) from my paintings.
I allow drips of paint to leave traces of process, creating a modern grid that both locates the nude and separates the viewer from it. Creamy white backgrounds suggest conflicting realms of bedroom and heaven. My goal is to connect the physicality of painting to the sensuality of the body, sin and savior in the same image.”
– Anna Stump
We hope you will join us for the exhibition as well as the following associated events.
An Evening with Artist Anna Stump
LIVE PAINTING: TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2018 – SIX TO EIGHT PM
// Exhibition on view MAR 18, 2017 – MAY 13, 2018
Join us for an evening of live figure painting and music in celebration of solo artist Anna Stump’s “Nudes” exhibition, on display March 18th – May 13th. (FREE / OPEN TO PUBLIC)
“Reclining Nude” Modigliani
Learn how to paint your own masterpiece in this class taught by solo artist Anna Stump.
WINE & PAINT EVENT: THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018 – SIX TO EIGHT THIRTY PM
// Exhibition on view MAR 18, 2017 – MAY 13, 2018 TICKETS REQUIRED
The post Exhibition: Anna Stump: Nudes / A Solo Show appeared first on Sparks Gallery.