Featured Lightbox Artist: Lauren Hua
Art Information
Lauren Hua
Silver Koi Pond I
Medium: Acrylic, Acrylic wash, Mixed Media and 24k Gold Foil
This piece was done with waved layers of modeling paste sculpted to create ripples in water, on top of acrylic washes to imbue a watercolor effect. Every layer is required to dry before the next can be applied, therefore, this work took several weeks to complete. The koi themselves are done in gold acrylic with and embellished with genuine 24k gold foil to capture the life and movement of sunlight on scales.
Tranquil and calm, this piece is part of a diptych meant to give a sense of peace and contentedness. Both horizontally and vertically, these pieces were painted so the water ripples and koi appear to flow seamlessly from one canvas to the other no matter how they are displayed. There is a subtle complexity to be unraveled, take your time to contemplate it and find peace in the meditative experience.
About the Artist
Lauren Hua is an abstract expressionist painter who uses art as a way to blend her American upbringing with her Asian heritage. Carrying her heritage to the canvas as the subject, her pieces are free flowing, with both Japanese and Chinese influences in the brush strokes and compositions. Yet they deviate from the traditional, structured calligraphy lines with bold textures and metallic accents that are unapologetically independent and self assured.
Her embrace of the abstract realm is a break from the exacting regime of her past. There’s no pressure to be perfect, there’s nothing that has to be “exactly so” or be left open to criticism. Abstract painting can be anything you want it to be, as both the creator and as the viewer. What one person feels and interprets from a painting can be completely different from another or from the artist themselves. It can even change from day to day, moment to moment depending on mood or whim. But that doesn’t make it wrong, if anything the conceptional fluidity makes them better able to be more widely appreciated.
Layers upon layers, modeling paste is built on top of multiple acrylic washes and finished with metallic flourishes. As each layer must dry before the next can be placed, it is not uncommon for paintings to take over a month to complete. She is recognized by her incorporation of texture in an increasingly 2D world, giving her paintings life and dimension. The ridges, cracks and valleys are striking and visceral, meaning to be felt.
Artist Statement:
“Above all, I am an avid believer that beauty should be experienced at every possible moment, whether that is found in the perfect latte, a breathtaking view, or a stolen kiss. I strive to create art that communicates that belief, one that does not shock and awe, but gives the viewer a muted joy, peace and contentment that can be experienced everyday.”
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