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| Albina Colden: Painter & Printmaker.
Born in the former USSR, raised in New England, and having lived for a number of years in the United Kingdom, she derives her themes from her rich but often dissonant experiences across these cultures. Colden received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Cambridge in the UK, where she was a Gates Scholar. Since returning from the United Kingdom in 2005, Dr. Colden’s work has been shown in Boston, New York City, Minneapolis, California, Texas, New Hampshire, Maine and Virginia. Her first solo exhibition, “Secret Messages,” took place in January 2006 in Portsmouth, NH. | |
| Artist Statement
"The main purpose of my work is to address the inherent ambiguity of memory. Our moment-to-moment experiences are fleeting, and in the end we must rely on memory for our sense of self and our understanding of the past. However, memory is a highly subjective process: It is shaped by culture, emotion, wishful thinking and pre-existing stereotyped imagery. In memory, contrast intensifies, emotions grow exaggerated, boundaries blur and characters switch roles. Body consciousness overshadows our sense of perspective. And symbolic cultural artifacts intrude to fill the gaps. In the end, our memories reflect our personalities and subconscious thoughts at least as much as they reflect the actual past events.
Through painting and printmaking, I seek to portray two distinct but complementary ways of addressing the phenomenon of memory. In my paintings, the ambiguity of memory is expressed through the use of line and the application of pigment. I use oil, acrylic, graphite, ink and a variety of glazing mediums to produce a heavy, expressive line and overlapping layers of both muted and exaggerated color. The line is left partially exposed by the paint, and each layer of color is partially exposed by the next, communicating the simultaneous poignancy and ambiguity of recollected imagery. Similarly, residual images created at the underpainting stages are left visible in the finished pieces, demonstrating the uncertainty of object placement and character roles in recalled events. Most recently, my quest to capture mnemonic ambiguity has led me to triptych paintings, which allow me to examine the manner in which events become transformed as we replay them in our minds.
As for printmaking, I view it as a process that parallel’s memory’s repeated replication of imagery, with minor tweaks and variations. In my relief prints, the power of expressive gesture interacts with the stilted quality of carved surface to create tangible, almost iconic representations of what is otherwise elusive. |
You can view more of Albina Colden's work at www.albinacolden.com |
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