ou may not consider yourself an art “collector” in the traditional fashion, but you’re curious, you appreciate the beauty in your surroundings, and you’re drawn to concepts that connect not just with you as an individual, but also with the community in which you live. You appreciate creative expression as well as the discipline and passion that exists behind each piece of carefully crafted art. And, most importantly, you celebrate the fact that life, art, and relationships often connect in serendipitous ways.
Here at Continuum Art Gallery, we want to celebrate those connections with you.
We invite you to come and be a part of our first gallery opening, Haec Culti, where we’ll be exploring the bonds that exist between ourselves, our community, and society as a whole via the work of these featured artists.
Kat Knutsen: Contemporary multimedia artist who utilizes painting, animation, computer graphics, and more.
If you’ve seen the 2018 Oscar-nominated film Loving Vincent, you’re already familiar with Kat Knutsen.
And after chatting with her, it’s clear that she draws inspiration from--and deeply understands the connectedness of--everything around her. From neural pathways to religion, to ageism, and beyond, the topics explored in Kat’s multimedia work can resonate with everyone.
With her hexagonal “Hive” series, she asks “What is it that makes our communities run well? Who are the characters, and what roles do they play?” After all, regardless of what’s currently happening in the world at large, we’re often most influenced by those directly around us. Kat’s artwork recognizes and honors the importance of every single member in each community.
If you’re curious to explore the world of creating art yourself, Kat teaches workshops which are often announced via her Instagram @katknutsen. You can also discover her art outside of the gallery by visiting her website https://katknutsen.com/home.html or catching one of her murals located around New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Conrado López: Modern impressionist painter heavily influenced by a background in graffiti & street art.
Conrado’s works definitely make an impact, whether you view his diverse paintings in a gallery or you were lucky enough to catch some of his graffiti works when he was known as “Size92.”
Although he’s recently moved into the world of nude paintings, you can still notice glimpses of his street art-inspired roots in his bold use of color and flat tints.
Conrado’s art has been described as “a breath of fresh air in the world of figurative art… he succeeds in bringing a centuries-old genre up to date, giving it new life and bringing it into our daily lives,” and we couldn’t be more excited to bring his unique works from Spain over here to Western North Carolina.
You can stay up-to-date with Conrado’s work on his Instagram, @c.lopez1992, where he often posts in-process videos, or find his works for sale on his website.
Kevin Yaun: Abstract impressionist painter whose work is influenced by everyday light.
Kevin is inspired by views from his home in Venice, California, and his paintings are surely felt just as much as they’re seen. You’ll find it difficult to view his work without also experiencing the warmth of the sun which so often backlights his subjects.
We actually had the chance to chat with the artist, who shared that his desire is to create authentic work that “lasts forever”--a refreshing opposition to the fast-paced and overmarketed ad campaigns we see on a daily basis. His abstract-yet-realistic paintings are a testament to the value of community connection--even between strangers at a crosswalk--and slow, carefully created pieces of art.
We’re excited to see his future work as well, which he says will stray from the inspiration he’s found in his physical surroundings and delve into the more conceptual and imaginative realm.
To connect with him, you can find him on Instagram @kevinyaun or purchase his work on his website, kevinyaun.com.
Francesco Lombardo: Classically-trained artist with a mastery over the values of light and dark.
Frank primarily uses oil painting to explore the current themes in his work, which include modern-day sybils, oracles, and the contrast between life and death.
We spoke about Frank’s ongoing series of paintings titled Memento Mori, which is centered on skulls shown in different lights, alongside his bright collection of small chick paintings. There’s a captivating polarity between the two series, and it’s a great example of the way Frank is fond of--and excellent at--representing ordinary objects and situations in a way that sheds new light on their meaning and place in a frame.
If you want to see more of Frank’s work outside of Haec Culti, you can follow him on Instagram @francescolombardo as well as his New York City gallery @stonesparrownyc.
You can also subscribe to Frank’s monthly series of painting tutorials where he explains his processes in real-time and, of course, visit his website to see his latest works.
We’ve spoken about our focus on community connections, and as fate would have it, Frank had painted Kat Knutsen as a model years ago, before she’d really delved into the world of art creation herself. And now, we’re thrilled to be showing them side-by-side in our own gallery!
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