STATEMENT

You might think of these paintings as maps or blueprints that are conceived in an interior world where the soul manifests itself into a concrete world. With my abstract and non-objective work I sometimes start with dissimilar cells of color and forms that act as a springboard to construct and ascertain different compositions that become harmonies and sometimes discords. Sometimes the paintings visualize and make themselves known completely in my head, before I ever begin painting, and then other times the paintings start with ideas and forms from nature that can originate from an organic form such as a tree, rock, or fallen leaf. I hope to extend the aesthetic and conversation of the abstract expressionists. I also paint figures and landscapes and study the art of book-making. I am a devoted journal writer. I study no one but the Masters. My greatest influences are Matisse, Munch, Picasso, Cy Twombly, and Richard Deibenkorn.

My non-objective and abstract work is the most challenging and therefore the most enjoyable for me. I find it very hard to achieve harmony and unity relying on the elements of art alone, verses drawing objects from a discernible reality.

I graduated from Morehead State University in 2006 with a Master’s Degree in fine art. My emphasis was painting and art history. I am also a poet. I’ve published recent work in New Verse News and ABZ Press. My first book, Pine Needles, was published in 2009. I have always been very influenced by music and poetry. I am most collected in Portland, Oregon, all of Italy, Sarasota, Florida, and, of course, Kentucky where I was born and raised and still live today. I represented the United States in the Florence Biennale in 2009. Since then I’ve secured an international presence exhibiting in four different countries. I have a solo-show with Colorida Art Gallery in Lisbon, Portugal opening May 28th of 2011.

I live for Art and for the act of making it.

Laura Eklund

Laura Eklund

http://www.lauraeklund.com

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