calida garcia rawles

This is the beautifully painted, powerful, breathtaking work {acrylic on canvas} of LA based artist Calida Garcia Rawles. I’m going to hand this over to her, because this description from her ‘about’ page says it poetically and perfectly:

“Merging sharp photo-realism with poetic abstraction, Calida Rawles paints African-American women and men submerged in glistening water; bodies are swarmed by a flurry of bubbles, ripples, and refracted light. For Rawles, water is a spiritually healing element for all people – yet she recognizes its historical connotations to racial exclusion and cultural fears. She uses the complicated duality of water as a platform to address identity politics while reimagining her subjects beyond cultural tropes. At times, her work alludes to current events, even making topographical maps of cities where acts of racially targeted violence have occurred. In other moments, her works are purely celebratory of the resilience, strength, and beauty of African American culture.”

Beautiful. But wait, there’s more… as stunning at Calida’s paintings are, I just had to share a few images from her Instagram feed. Some of her paintings are so big that she works by sitting on scaffolding… but look how small her brushes can be:

The pay off for using such teeny tiny brushes on those great big canvases? Yet another solo show at VSF {Various Small Fires} in LA, not to mention a fantastic interview in W Magazine. So, so, so inspiring.

 






comments (7)

  1. Maria Holmerin Nord /// 06.02.2020 /// 5:37am

    Beautiful and fitting for the day! Off-topic: I so love her dress!!!

  2. Kalen Meyer /// 06.04.2020 /// 7:03pm

    Incredibly beautiful work.

  3. the jealous curator /// 06.05.2020 /// 9:39pm

    She’s on the podcast this weekend… be sure to listen. It was an amazing conversation.

  4. Amy Tingle /// 06.06.2020 /// 9:53am

    Paintings like those AND personal style for miles???? Whoa!

  5. Michelle Gallagher /// 06.06.2020 /// 10:36am

    Stunning work, wow

  6. Zoe Slaughter /// 07.09.2020 /// 8:35am

    I do still visit your blog and website all the time! Take your time recovering- hope you feel better!!!

  7. San J /// 07.11.2020 /// 9:12am

    Still here after some years and very happy that so are you!
    Had you off in Europe enjoying a summer art jaunt – finding
    new artists for our enjoyment and edification. Hope your
    continued healing process is now painless and soon completed.
    Looking forward to the Jealous Curator’s return. Thank you for compiling and sharing artwork that I would be oblivious of otherwise.







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