natalie wadlington
places that grow
digging in the rain, 2021, oil on canvas, 42 x 42 in. image courtesy of the artist and library street collective
Inspired by her awe of abundance of life and growth in her new home state of Texas, Natalie Wadlington presents a new series of paintings depicting spaces ripe for exploration. Starring the expansive and ever-changing sky, the paintings appoint the celestial sphere as the covert protagonist and are set in all times of day, from dusk to dawn.
Wadlington is a storyteller, using her paintings to invite viewers into her whimsical worlds. The ageless figures express both empathy and fear as they explore the great outdoors. In Pool in Fall, a figure rescues bees from a swimming pool. Gardening in Sunset is loosely based on when the artist as a child believed she had discovered a dinosaur fossil when she dug up her cat’s skeleton in her backyard. The settings in this series are borrowed from backyards, gardens, and front lawns from the artist’s adolescence. While the works are semi-autobiographical, with Wadlington depicting herself as the main subject for the first time in her practice, the artist mines her own memories to capture universal feelings of discovery, anxiety, fear, and transcendence when experiencing things for the first time.
The drama of Texas skies influenced Wadlington to appoint them as a character in the narrative’s of these paintings. A master of color, the artist captures the range of hues that blanket earth. She often uses bodies of water and the skin tones of her figures to mirror the pigments of the sky, extending its influence on the scene. Wadlington uses square canvases intentionally so both the vertical figures and horizontal landscapes can be equivalent in importance. This compositional equality reflects the artist’s deep belief in mutualism between humans, animals, and the land.
With her work, Wadlington challenges her audience to engage with things outside of themselves. Rendering places where she experienced growth personally, the artist invites viewers into the blooming environments of her creation so they can share the excitement, apprehension, and expansiveness of growth themselves.
The exhibition is curated by Emily Edwards, Assistant Curator
natalie wadlington: places that grow is made possible with lead support from library street collective, thompson dallas, the box co., LALO, greenhouse gin & vodka, townes vodka, anonymous, and pogo’s wines & spirits
pouring water, 2021, Oil on canvas, 42 x 42 in. image courtesy of the artist and library street collective
about natalie wadlington
Natalie Wadlington (b. 1992, Modesto, California) lives and works in College Station, Texas. Her practice consists of figurative paintings that frequently feature encounters with both wild and domesticated animals. Wadlington views the interactions presented within her works as metaphors that communicate larger archetypal narratives of love, conflict, and misjudgment, specifically in human relationships with nature. Wadlington received her BFA from California State University, Stanislaus, in 2017 and completed her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2020, following her fellowship at Ox-Bo School of Art in 2019. Recent solo exhibitions include "Pooled' at Library Street Collective, Detroit (2021), and 'Other People's Problems' at Epekel Gallery in Merced, CA (2018). Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions, including 'Fragmented Bodies' at Albertz Benda Gallery, New York (2020); 'IRL' at Unit London, London (2020); and 'Young Dreams' at Aout Gallery, Beirut (2021). She received the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Full Fund Scholarship and the Anderson Ranch Sculpture Scholarship in 2020; the Mercedes Benz Financial Services Emerging Artists Award and the Detroit Artists Market First Place Award in 2020; and merit scholarships from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2019 and 2018.
photo by paige beitler. image courtesy of the artist and library street collective
natalie wadlington
Lugares Que Crecen
Inspirada en su asombro por la abundancia de vida y crecimiento en su nuevo hogar de Texas, Natalie Wadlington presenta una nueva serie de pinturas que representan espacios listos para la exploración. Con el cielo expansivo y siempre cambiante como personaje central, las pinturas designan a la esfera celeste como protagonista encubierta y están ambientadas en todos los momentos del día, desde el anochecer hasta el amanecer.
Wadlington es una narradora de historias que utiliza sus pinturas para invitar a los espectadores a sumergirse en sus mundos extravagantes. Las figuras eternas expresan empatía y miedo mientras exploran el aire libre. En Pool in Fall (Piscina en Otoño) una figura rescata abejas de una piscina. Gardening in Sunset (Cuidando el Jardín en una Puesta de Sol) se basa libremente en la niñez de la artista cuando creyó que había descubierto un fósil de dinosaurio al desenterrar el esqueleto de su gato en su patio trasero. Los escenarios de esta serie están tomados de patios traseros, jardines y patios delanteros de la adolescencia de la artista. Si bien las obras son semiautobiográficas, con Wadlington representándose a sí misma como tema principal por primera vez en su obra, la artista extrae sus propios recuerdos para capturar sentimientos universales de descubrimiento, ansiedad, miedo y trascendencia al experimentar estos sucesos por primera vez.
El drama de los cielos de Texas influyó en Wadlington para designarlos como un personaje en la narrativa de estas pinturas. Maestra del color, la artista captura la gama de tonos que cubren la tierra. A menudo usa extensiones de agua y los tonos de piel de sus figuras para reflejar los pigmentos del cielo, extendiendo su influencia en la escena. Wadlington utiliza lienzos cuadrados intencionalmente para que tanto las figuras verticales como los paisajes horizontales puedan ser equivalentes en importancia. Esta igualdad compositiva refleja la profunda creencia de la artista en el mutualismo entre los humanos, los animales y la tierra.
Con su obra, Wadlington desafía a sus espectadores a involucrarse en situaciones fuera de sí mismos. Representando lugares donde experimentó el crecimiento de forma personal, la artista invita a los espectadores a los entornos florecientes de su creación para que ellos mismos puedan compartir la emoción, la aprensión y la expansividad del crecimiento.
Bajo la curaduría de Emily Edwards, Curadora Asistente
natalie wadlington: lugares que crecen es posible gracias al apoyo principal de library street collective, thompson dallas, the box co., LALO, greenhouse gin & vodka, townes vodka, donante anónimo y pogo's wines & spirits
más sobre natalie wadlington
Natalie Wadlington nació en Modesto, California. Recibió su MFA en Pintura de la Academia de Arte Cranbrook en Bloomfield, Michigan. Su obra se exhibido en Library Street Collective, Albertz Benda Gallery y Unit London, entre otros lugares. En 2020 recibió el Premio al Artista Emergente de Mercedes Benz. Natalie vive y trabaja en Bryan, Texas.