Saturday, May 14, 2011

ANANDA KESLER

Hanging Gardens of Babylon 1, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"




Ananda Kesler isn't afraid of color - any color, which is why I always look forward to seeing whatever it is that she's come up with next. Punchy yellows, mottled grays, and the strategic inclusion of reds (and almost every other color in the spectrum) continue to find their way into her paintings. Ananda's study of textiles has been a strong influence on her work and in the interview below, she describes her visit to Indonesia. .

PB: How did you choose to major in art--why art, or how did you gravitate to art?
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AK: I've always been in love with art, always been enchanted and transfixed by the beauty that artists have created throughout the ages.
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PB: Who has influenced your work the most?
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AK: I think my first and utmost inspiration came from my grandmother. She was a well known artist in Israel, where I grew up. My fascination with oil paint and the mystical, forbidden realm of the painter’s studio began at a very young age during my visits to her apartment/studio. The scent of turpentine, the thick textured palette, and the luscious hues of oil paint left an indelible impression on my memory. Her work was also abstract, though she was most influenced by the surrealist movement. Although our painting style is quite different, my father once remarked how he couldn't believe how much my paintings reminded him of her paintings. My psyche was undoubtedly marked by my grandmother's paintings, her color and style, from a young age. My work is also influenced by my formative years in art school, by the work of my fellow art-school friends and possibly even professors..


Superstring Theory, 2010, acrylic and oil on canvas, 24" x 30"


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PB: How do your work specifically--how do you paint and how do you make color choices?


AK: My process is haphazard. It is fluid and based completely on feeling things out. There are no plans in advance, no road map, or preconceived ideas of an end goal. It is all about exploring feelings translated into color and form. It begins with an impulse that might be a single color and things just flow from there. For me painting is completely about forging into the unknown at every moment. Learning to be comfortable not knowing. Color choices happen accidentally, or influenced by past impressions stored in the creative unconscious. Colors that feel 'yummy' together, that are happy in their relating to one another, get to stay. Colors that don't feel right together get covered up. For me it is all about giving in to a process, letting go and trusting that the painting itself will take over and show me what it wants to be. At times the process seems effortless, the painting just happens almost of its own accord. Other times it feels like pulling teeth, and things take a long time to work themselves out, sometimes never resolving completely.


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PB: How have your travels abroad influenced your work; what was Indonesia like?


AK: Traveling is always a transforming and eye-opening experience. It allowed me to see and experience things so exotic and foreign that it opened things inside of me. The main focus of my travels in southeast Asia was a search for textiles, a kind of treasure hunt of sorts. On the Indonesian island of Java I studied batik techniques from a couple of master batik artists. In Thailand I studied about traditional Lana weaving structures. Since I've been back, I've been drawn to take my paintings in a direction inspired by the textile patterns that I saw in my travels.


....Untitled, 2009, oil on canvas, 24" x 36"


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PB: What are your plans for your work and/or education in the future?


AK: In the future I hope to somehow combine my two passions for painting and textiles. I would like to find a fluid place where both can inform each other. Where I can use some design ideas printed on textiles that can be turned into consumer products, as well as make paintings that are informed by pattern and textiles. As for education, I am still entertaining the idea of getting an MFA in the back of my mind. My dream would be to complete my graduate studies in Italy or Spain.
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Hanging Gardens of Babylon 4, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"
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Not Sure How, 2011, mixed media on canvas, 24" x 36"
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More of Ananda's work can be found at anandakesler.com.