VICTORIA CARLSON
The artist's paintings, drawn from her dreams and creative musings, are quirky and impeccably rendered.
Victoria Carlson’s new paintings are the product of original vision and singular sensibility. They picture muscle-bound toddlers, some in ball gowns or wedding dresses, in settings that suggest overwhelming power – standing in front of a tidal wave, for example, or before a giant microwave transmission tower. These large scale works on paper are the subject of “Victoria Carlson: Five Paintings,” on view March 12 through April 7 at Parks Gallery in Taos.
“We think of babies and brides as things of beauty, fragile and vulnerable,” Carlson says, “but there’s also something indomitable about them, and I like the disparity Bodybuilders look intimidating but they’re really quite fragile. So I’m using these figures as a vocabulary, putting them in an arena in which I mash up images just to see what happens.”In the process, Carlson consciously seeks to tweak the preconceptions of the contemporary art establishment. Though her skills at rendering are emaculate, her materials are humble—paper, watercolor, flocking—and her aim is to illicit a full-throated laugh. “The debasement of humor, narrative and representation in contemporary art interest me,” she says. “Irreverent, low, comic and specific representation fall far outside of ‘Academic Good Art Practices.’ But what is officially suppressed and degraded is often more vital and unpredictable than what is sanctioned. The friction between my primitive desire to describe, my foolish laughter, and my formal art training became interesting and unsettling as I began to work with the random and the funny. I repeatedly found myself thinking about authority and misbehavior.”
“If I have an agenda,” she concludes, “it’s this—I feel like the world is divided into two camps, those with and those without power. I’m saying, don’t fall for appearances. The world is more complicated than it looks.”
Carlson’s art has been acquired by curators for such prestigious institutions as the De Young Museum in San Francisco, the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, and The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos. A principal patron has been Sanford Besser of Santa Fe, whose drawing collection is among the finest in the country.
The opening reception for “Victoria Carlson: Five Paintings,” is Saturday, March 13, from 4 to 6 pm, and the show will be on view through April 7
Visit her blog at victoriacarlson.blogspot.comArtist Bio → Reviews and Articles →
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BIOGRAPHY
Victoria Carlson
http://victoriacarlson.blogspot.com
Artist’s Statement
The debasement of humor, narrative and representation in contemporary art interests me. Irreverent, low, comic, and specific representation fall far outside “Academic Good Art Practices,” but what is officially suppressed and degraded is often more vital and unpredictable than what is sanctioned. The friction between my primitive desire to describe, my foolish laughter, and my formal art training became interesting and unsettling as I began to work with the random and the funny. I repeatedly found myself thinking about authority and misbehavior.
Aristotle believed that infants first laughed after the fortieth day of life, and only following that became full human beings. He knew that when one laughs, one marks a truly egalitarian relationship. The laugh draws a subject close, the awesome becomes familiar and the sublime retreats. This is antithetical to formalism and intellectual rigor. Can you imagine Clement Greenberg truly admiring the insouciant leer of peeing putti? One cannot be intimidating or intimidated when one is laughing. The Romantics were right. Perfection and pure form and honor and dignity want us to stay respectfully back. But life wants sex and blood and intimacy and danger. By painting in a non-heroic medium on the least of grounds and using random juxtapositions of representational images I hope to tell stories that encourage intimacy and familiarity and love of the chaotic imperfect fullness of the viewer’s life.
Victoria Carlson 2007
Victoria Carlson Resume
BORN: OREGON
HOME: SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO AND OAKLAND, CA
EDUCATION: SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE, B.F.A., PAINTING
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2010 Parks Gallery, Taos, NM, Five Paintings, Solo Show
2010 New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM, New Arrivals: Works from the Collection, Group Show
2010 Bang! Gallery/Jay Etkin Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 14 Artists take on Valentine's Day, Group Show
2008 New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM, Art On The Edge, Juried Group Show
2007 H. M. DEYOUNG Museum, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, THE SANDY AND DIANE BESSER COLLECTION.
2007 BEDFORD GALLERY, DEAN LESHER CENTER FOR THE ARTS, WALNUT CREEK, CA, CARNEY ART, JURIED GROUP SHOW.
2007 GALLERY 516, ALBUQUERQUE, NM, INVITATIONAL GROUP SHOW
2007 PARKS GALLERY, TAOS, NM, "BENT ON SIN," SOLO EXHIBITION.
2007 VICTORIA PRICE GALLERY, SANTA FE, NM, “POWERMONGERS AND PEACEMAKERS,” GROUP SHOW.
2006 THE DISTORTIONISTS, NATIONAL GET-OUT-THE-VOTE POSTER CAMPAIGN.
2006 JURIED GROUP TRAVELING EXHIBITION, “TOMORROW'S DRAWING TODAY“, THE ARTS CENTER, ST. PETERSBURG, FL, AND SANTA FE, NM.
2006 FACULTY EXHIBITION, SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, SANTA FE, NM.
2005 PARKS GALLERY, TAOS, NM , INVITATIONAL GROUP SHOW
2004 SOMíE GALLERY, UNHEARD VOICES, SANTA FE, INVITATIONAL GROUP SHOW
2004 PARKS GALLERY, RAPTORS AND OTHER RELATIVES, TAOS, INVITATIONAL GROUP SHOW
2004 THE ROUNDHOUSE, INVITATIONAL GROUP SHOW
2004 SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE , FACULTY EXHIBITION
2004 CCA, SANTA FE, INSIGHT OUT!, INVITATIONAL GROUP SHOW
2004 PARKS GALLERY/TAOS, GROUP SHOW
2003 SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, FACULTY EXHIBITION
2003 PARKS GALLERY/SANTA FE, NM SOLO EXHIBITION
2003 PARKS GALLERY/TAOS, NM, GROUP EXHIBITION
2002 SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, FACULTY EXHIBITION
2002 PARKS GALLERY/SANTA FE, NM, SOLO EXHIBITION
2001 THE HARWOOD MUSEUM, TAOS, NM, JURIED EXHIBITION
1995 JOAN ROEBUCK GALLERY, LAFAYETTE, CA, GROUP EXHIBITION
ROBERTA WEIR GALLERY, BERKELEY CA, GROUP EXHIBITION
1994 BEDFORD CREEK CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER, WALNUT CREEK, CA, JURIED EXHIBITION
1993 GALLERY ROUTE ONE, POINT REYES, CA, JURIED EXHIBITION
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
INSIGHT OUT! CATALOG CCA SHOW
PASATIEMPO! ART OCTOBER 29-NOV. 4, 2004
PASATIEMPO!, OCTOBER, 2003
TAOS MAGAZINE, MARCH/APRIL, 2003
TAOS NEWS, DEC. 2002
SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN, OCTOBER 2002
SANTA FE REPORTER, OCTOBER 2002
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL NORTH, NOVEMBER 2002
SANTA FEAN MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2002
HARWOOD MUSEUM, "ORIGINALS" SHOW CATALOG 2001
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL NORTH, OCTOBER 2001
TAOS NEWS, "TEMPO", SEPT. 2001
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
BASIC DRAWING, INSTRUCTOR, SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, 2005
FIGURE DRAWING, INSTRUCTOR, SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, 2004
WATERCOLOR, INSTRUCTOR, SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, 2002, 2003, 2004
UNDERGRADUATE PAINTING, GUEST LECTURER SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE, 1994
COMMISSIONS:
THOMAS L. BERKLEY BUILDING LOBBY ART , "GLASS WALL" 10 X 12' OAKLAND, CA 2005
PRIVATE RESIDENCE, GALISTEO, NM "GALISTEO SKY" 35' X 46' , GALISTEO NM 2004
WALL MURAL FOR PUBLIC ART PROJECT BY ALEXIS SMITH, & HEALTH & HUMAN, 13 X 62 FEET
CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL EAST FEDERAL BUILDING PROJECT, MARCH 2003
SITE SPECIFIC WALL PAINTING FOR INSTALLATION BY ALEXIS SMITH, RED CARPET, 14 X 27 FEET,SITE SANTA FE BIENNIAL, JULY 2001
WALL MURAL FOR OAKLAND MUSEUM/OAKLAND AIRPORT, THE LEI SHOW, 11 X 80 FEET. MARCH 2001
WALL MURAL FOR POINTS OF INTEREST: THE LAURENCIN HAUSEWORTH ALBUMS, CALIFORNIA
VIEWS FROM 1860-1870, SAN FRANCISCO, 2002
MURAL FOR EXHIBIT, THE KISS OF THE OCEANS: COMMERCE AND CULTURE AT THE 1915 WORLDíS FAIR, 8 X 28 FEET, SAN FRANCISCO, FEBRUARY 2001
COLLECTIONS:
JAMES DYKE COLLECTION, ARKANSAS AND PARIS, FRANCE
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, SANTA FE
DE YOUNG MUSEUM OF THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO
SANDY BESSER COLLECTION
SOUTHWESTERN OREGON COMMUNITY
COLLEGE PERMANENT COLLECTION
COOS BAY PUBLIC LIBRARY COLLECTION
ANNE APPLEBY COLLECTION
PHAEDON PAPAMICHAEL COLLECTION
AWARDS:
SAN FRANCISCO ART COMMISSION, TEMPORARY ART ON MARKET, THE CORN PROJECT, 2004 (ONGOING 2004)
HONOR STUDIO AWARD, SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE, 1987
PROJECTS:
ARTISTS OF TOMORROW, HIGH SCHOOL ART SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION AND ENDOWMENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SANTA FE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION, SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
ORW VIDEO PROJECT, ONGOING SANTA FE, NM AND SOUTHERN OREGON
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REVIEWS / ARTICLES
RECENT PRESS FOR VICTORIA CARLSON
"HER FINELY RENDERED PAINTINGS SHOW TWISTED FIGURES MUSING OVER A GROCERY LIST OF "SINS" LIKE "BOWLING WITH CENTAURS." THE SATIRICAL BLASPHEMIES REVEAL CARLSON'S SLY HUMOR AND COMPASSION FOR THE EXTREMES TO WHICH HUMANS WILL STRETCH BOTH THEMSELVES AND THEIR BELIEFS INTO PRETZELS, IN ORDER TO MAKE SENSE OF THEIR WORLD."--KATHLEEN ROBERTS, VENUE, ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL,REVIEW OF JURIED GROUP SHOW, "ART ON THE EDGE," NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF ART, SANTA FE, NM.
"VICTORIA CARLSON'S WATERCOLORS, FOR INSTANCE, DEPICT DREAMSCAPES NO ONE SHOW, NOT EVEN CIRQUE DE SOLEIL, COULD EVER REPRODUCE. THREE OF THE SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, ARTIST'S PAINTINGS FOR THE "CARNEY ART" EXHIBITION DEPICT A FEMALE CONTORTIONIST WHOSE ACT IS COMPETING WITH FAR MORE BIZARRE SPECTACLES..."--KELLY VANCE, EAST BAY EXPRESS,EVENTS, REVIEW OF JURIED GROUP SHOW, "CARNEY ART," BEDFORD GALLERY, WALNUT CREEK, CA.
"CARLSON BORROWS THE CONTORTIONIST'S ACT AS A BROAD METAPHOR FOR THE EXTREMES TO WHICH HUMANS WILL STRETCH THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN MORAL SUPREMACY. THROUGH SUBVERSIVE SYMBOLISM AND SILLINESS, SHE EXHORTS US TO JOIN HER ON THE TRANSGRESSIVE PATH--WHERE SHE IMPLIES, WE MIGHT ACTUALLY ENCOUNTER TRUE TRANSFORMATION..." "EXQUISITELY DRAWN AND WELL COMPOSED, THE IMAGES COMPEL THE VIEWER TO LEAVE OFF EXAMINING TECHNIQUE FOR INTENSE RUMINATION ON CONTENT."--HOLLIS WALKER, ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL NORTH, REVIEW OF SOLO SHOW, "BENT ON SIN," PARKS GALLERY, TAOS, NM.
"IF I'D HAD THE GUTS TO BLUDGEON THE GALLERIST AND STEAL JUST ONE WORK, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VICTORIA CARLSON'S "FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY, ADN THE TINY PISSED OFF ORCHESTRA," YOU'D THINK THE TITLE SAYS IT ALL, BUT IT'S REALLY THE EXTRA LIMBS, DELICATELY RENDERED WATERCOLOR UDDERS AND, OF COURSE, THE WEE PEOPLE WHICH SETS IT APART." --ZANE FISCHER, SANTA FE REPORTER,REVIEW OF "TOMORROW'S DRAWING TODAY," TRAVELING JURIED GROUP SHOW, TURNER CARROL GALLERY, SANTA FE, NM.
"...BUT VICTORIA CARLSON'S TINY WATERCOLOR TITLED "MR. PRESIDENT, ARE YOU SURE IT WAS GOD SPEAKING TO YOU?" PROVES TAHT NEITHER GOOD PAINTING NOR CUTTING SATIRE IS DEAD." --ELIZABETH COOK-ROMERO, THE NEW MEXICAN, REVIEW OF "THE POLITICAL SHOW."
I AM MOST CURIOUS, AS IS PAINTER VICTORIA CARLSON, ABOUT WHO THIS MADMAN-VANDAL IS OR WAS, AND WHAT WAS IN HIS HEAD. HER "CUT-STORY" IS A LARGE, MIXED-MEDIA WORK DEPICTING A MAN'S--THE MADMAN'S--NAKED BACK, STAINED LIKE AN IMMENSE BRUISE. IN HIS LEFT HAND IS A KNIIFE, AND HIS HEAD IS THE VANDALIZED COPY OF "THE GAY ACADEMIC" (EDITED BY LOUIE CREW, ETC PUBLICATIONS 1978). THE FIGURE LOOMS IN A CARAVAGGIO-LIKE BLACKNESS THAT HEIGHTENS THE HAUNTING WIERDNESS." --TOM COLLINS, THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL NORTH,REVIEW OF "INSIDE OUT!"
"SANTA FE WATERCOLORIST VICTORIA CARLSON INSISTS THAT SHE HAS A HALL PASS WITH NO EXPIRATION DATE--AT LEAST WHEN IT COMES TO HER ART. TRYING TO PIGEONHOLE HER IS TOUGHER THAN FINDING A PARKING PLACE DOWNTOWN AT LUNCH TIME, BUT LET'S JUST SAY THAT IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A REALLY APT ANALOGY, CONSIDER PAIRING THE MARQUIS CHIMPS, WITH THE MARX BROTHERS IN A FELLILNI FILM. THE RESULT MIGHT BE THIS SERIES OF STRANGE, SURREAL, AND EVEN ZANY WATERCOLORS." --ROBERT NOTT, PASA TIEMPO,rEVIEW OF PARKS SOLO SHOW
"AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, MY BEST OF SHOW GOES HANDS DOWN TO VICTORIA CARLSON'S THREE BIZARRE, CREEPY WATERCOLOR MINIATURES, PARTICULARLY "WAITING FOR MY SPECIAL FRIENDS" WHICH LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING FROM A PERVERSE BEATRIX POTTER STORY FOR ADULT KIDS. WEIRD ADN ABSOLUTELY EXQUISITELY EXECUTED." --TOM COLLINS, THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL NORTH,REVIEW OF JURIED SHOW, THE HARWOOD MUSEUM, TAOS, NM