KATELYN ALAIN -THE AGE OF ILLUMINATED PHENOMENA -October 2nd 2009

“The Age of Illuminated Phenomena depicts a cast of characters that have been released from the deep well of my subconscious and given a platform to exist and live on the surface of the canvas. The children in this show embody what is often lost to societal and cultural influence on the way to adulthood -- uninhibited and raw emotion, sincerity, and a world occupied with magic and wonder, I see myself as the guide and protector for this regiment of girls and the associated self-portraits are a direct reflection of my own attempts to move forward through this troubled world.”

“My work portrays an environment where very abstract ideas are tweaked to become human, and human emotions are abstracted into painterly process. These works articulate and crystallize abstract, subconscious ideas into individual portraits through the intuitive process of oil painting so they can then be more thoroughly examined in the guise of the human form. Each portrait is an iteration of myself, as each one is born from a particular place in the depths of my psyche.”

“Although portraiture has been used as a tool to express and explore latent psychological ideals since the beginning of time, its uses in the contemporary art world have been regularly disregarded. I see myself as just one small voice in a much larger movement to bring integrity, sincerity, and a genuine search for truth back into contemporary art practice. Utilizing the figure to do so invites viewers to connect with the work on a universal level.”

-Katelyn Alain