Have you met…Rhia Hurt?

Rhia Hurt. Framed Group of Collages Mixed Media

An introduction can be a wonderful thing. You can meet interesting people, and make new friends. You can be introduced to your new favorite foods, books, music, or artist.

I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite artists. Some of whom I’ve been familiar with for years, and others I’ve only recently been introduced to.

The person I’d like to introduce is the artist Rhia Hurt.

Marcus Acrylic on watercolor paper 7”x9”

Rhia Hurt was born in Northern California, and lives New York, NY.

Education:
MFA in Painting, San Francisco Art Institute
MA in Education, University of California Santa Cruz
BFA, California College of the Arts, Oakland, California

Wing Acrylic and paper, frame 14”x11”

Statement

“I am drawn to the idea of context: of an individual’s place within the whole; how figures relate to each other and abstract, colored fields.

The imagery I choose to work with comes from candid photographs and video I have taken of various settings and situations from my daily surroundings. I paint figures from the shots in order to highlight moments where meaningful interactions take place, either between figures or between the figure and his or her environment.

I paint gesturally, allowing my improvised marks to reflect the messiness and kinetic energy or calm of the moment. I layer these by pouring, drawing and painting on paper. Colors of nature, lime and leaf greens, luminous, pale yellow, white, and deep blues, contrast with colors of industry, magenta reds, acid green, purple, and cement gray.

Figures occupy multiple levels of the picture plane within each painted abstract field. The surrounding fields reference imagined space– both emotional and psychological. These figures and spaces represent themes of uncertainty, danger, and hope I see in contemporary urban life.” RH

Girl 1 Acrylic, charcoal, collage on panel 12”x16”

Other material relating to Rhia Hurt.

Artist website: Rhia Hurt

Vimeo: Rhia Hurt

Structure and Imagery: Rhia Hurt

dB Brooklyn: Rhia Hurt

ART IN BROOKLYN + Dungeon Beach present: Rhia Hurt and Elizabeth Riley

We are absolutely THRILLED to present our second [dB] Visual Artist Series, co-curated with Michael Sorgatz, creator of Art in Brooklyn!

OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 6-9PM
EXHIBITION ON VIEW: SEPTEMBER 20- JANUARY 3, 2013
(by appointment)

Artists, Rhia Hurt and Elizabeth Riley were both selected based on their  inventive approach towards mixed media, their alignment with the [dB] mission and their previous artist profile features (here and here) on the Art in Brooklyn site.

If you liked this introduction please check out the PREVIOUS and NEXT.