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Jamie Hudrlik • Iowa City, IA• Mixed Media
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I have always been drawn to children's books. Their dazzling colors, imaginative drawings, silly words and playful compositions are delicately balanced between naiveté and sophistication. My paintings are in many ways like a children's book—a children's book of my life. |
“The Alphabet Series” includes twenty-six paintings, which resemble the structure of a children's alphabet book. Each painting has a theme, which is supported by various objects that correspond to the letter of the painting.
My paintings are about self-discovery, letting go and the personal repercussions I experien--ed following September 11 th 2001. I was living in Manhattan when the Twin Towers came down. That day my innocence was overthrown. I was unable to cope with the monsters of my nightmares, made manifest and walking in the daylight. Five days later, I left everything and moved back home to Iowa.
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Falling
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This series explores the dichotomy of my struggle between the sweet innocence of childhood and the painful reality of adulthood.
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The umbilical cord physically ties the adult and baby together; I am interested in finding what emotionally bonds them together. In each painting, I try to explore the tension between childhood and adulthood. I find truth through seemingly nonsensical themes. Nostalgic objects, eidetic memories, simple phrases and fairy tale themes illustrate the complexities of growing up.
Spontaneous brush strokes uncover raw emotion. The revelation contained in the act is essential.
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It is important for me to paint a nostalgic exterior atmosphere while exposing an underlying adult life within the same painting. The mysterious world of the circus inspires many of my paintings and a large canvas helps me jump inside them. I experiment with various media to escape conventionality and to play like a child. I use bright contrasting colors, shiny glosses, sponge stamps and wrapping paper to enhance the environment. I try not to create my forms but let them create themselves. Letters emerge magically to create rhythmic alphabetical scenes. Although my paintings are pictorially flat, they are stacked with multiple layers like a birthday cake, each one a reflection of my past and present selves. |
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