Kristy Luck’s paintings are windows into psychological spaces where forms emerge from fluid gestures and rich colors. Building upon sketches, these surreal landscapes evoke a subconscious understanding of space and objects. Her titles give viewers a glimpse of her intentions and the imagery and patterns echo historical depictions of women in melancholic or revelatory states. In this new body of work, Luck includes motifs of erupting volcanoes, bursting blooms, and spinning tornadoes, all events that signal transformation. At the same time, these shapes are open so that viewers can also bring their own associations and readings of the scenes. Luck’s work encourages interpretation and singular connections. The artist has said, “I am trying to find a visual language for personal melancholia and intuition; melancholia not as a pathology, but as an illuminating discourse with oneself, and intuition as subconscious pattern recognition. I’m interested in how these emotional experiences have been dismissed or devalued when associated with the ‘feminine mind.’” 

Kristy Luck’s soft edges and washes of color belie a rigorous painting process. Luck builds the colorful compositions on the canvas methodically, working on multiple paintings at once. This distance from an individual work allows her the space to weigh each movement. This deliberation is evident in the tonal balance of each work. Luck’s expressions of color and light result in moody paintings that draw viewers in. In the artist’s own words, “I want my surfaces to generously reveal their making to the viewer in visible, built-up layers and repeated patterns. At the same time, I let the forms in the image slip out of grasp to evoke personal or private mystery.” Kristy Luck aims for each work to be generous in its clarity of material, but nebulous in its meaning. It is in this tension between the physical and the psychic nature of painting that the work is most rewarding for close viewers. 

Words and images via Philip Martin Gallery.