Ctrl + S : Featured Artists

Ctrl + S : Tell us about yourself!

KR : The motivations for this piece were definitely rooted in themes of organic growth and ephemerality, through a youthful and feminine lens. I’m interested in the idea of existing between spaces where time is shifting in different directions. There’s a range of sharp focus to haziness present when participating in the act of looking and moving, and I’m fascinated by how figures interact with the spaces and capturing instances where they become partially obscured in the passage between spaces and actions. There’s recurring patterns and disoriented subjects and thoughts paired with a feeling of haste in the ruminationprocess of various mental illnesses that plague me. As I’ve learned to navigate the tangible world alongside the metaphysical one, I attempt to bridge that gap with the illusion imagery and environments that are familiar and comforting, but not entirely comprehensible where they linger. While I don’t expect a viewer to fully come to these conclusions, as it is more a part of my process in understanding a work during its creation, I do anticipate that a person’s eyes might travel along the piece on a path they’re instinctively drawn to. I hope they may be inspired to explore what kind of familiar imagery might create both comfort and unease in regards to the hidden paths and spaces that can exist for each person in any reality.

KR :  My process is honestly a lot of pacing and wandering around and thinking too hard until I decide to just jump right in on a moment of inspiration from anything (usually some source of media) and begin
working intuitively, which usually ends up being something completely different from the original idea and organic in its compositional flow. I have a lot of inspirations- from random photos of nature and the environment and spaces around me I’ve captured on a whim, to nostalgic articles of clothing and shoes and historical photographs. I’m also inspired by various older films, especially that of film-noir. Cinema and its drama and format is an appeal to me as a theater kid. And of course I can’t go without mentioning Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music, my biggest inspiration of youthful musical joy and journeying, with that touch of a darker reality growing up. My professors and Art peers are also great inspirations both artistically and professionally, and I have an immense amount of appreciation and gratitude towards them.

Ctrl + S : Any general goals for yourself and/or your art?

KR : Oh man.... Isn’t that the question? Honestly I’d love to just be able to sustain myself while also working in an artistic learning environment where I can interact with other creative people, isn’t that the dream? I hope to maintain the passion and joy I have for creating and learning about art. I’d love to go to grad school one day and possibly pursue some level of teaching and/or working with galleries in some sense, but we’ll see where things take me I suppose!