http://www.chicago-artists.com and Friedman Fine Art are pleased to represent the marvelous works of Chicago contemporary artist Natasha Kohli.
Natasha Kohli was raised in the Chicago area, brought up in an environment that readily encouraged her to draw from wide range of influences and sources of inspiration. Although she grew up in an Indian-American household, it can neither be said that she was brought up “traditionally” Indian nor “traditionally” American. Traveling across the world, from Delhi to Florence to New York, has led her to the understanding that no one place is an island. Instead, Kohli feels that each location is simply a part of the larger whole, both possessing unique traits and combining universally human elements in its own way. This has led her to develop a strong core identity that melds aspects of many different cultures and walks of life, occasionally in unconventional or unorthodox ways. This confidence in herself and her vision inspired her to pursue her own creative path without formal training, create her own small business without formal schooling, and continually redefine herself and her work in response to her experiences.
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| Yellow Jacket, Oil on Canvas |
Natasha’s work is not meant to be observed from afar with detachment; rather, it is meant to spur the observer to actively appreciate how the work complements the space it inhabits. When starting a piece, she first starts with the emotion and actions that she seeks to inspire. From this point she allows this impression to inform the artistic and aesthetic decisions she must make to that end. She begins to explore the medium upon which she is working, learning its limitations, boundaries, and strengths. From there she contemplates how it would appear in its finished form, be it on a wall or in a different installation. This inspires her to move beyond color and shape into the abstract realm of object-relations. Natasha states that her work “draws on the feelings evoked by shape, space and color” in the service of “challenging perfection” and “arousing new or buried emotions”. She accomplishes this by utilizing her unique sense of palate and reconfiguring shapes/lines to bring out their interrelationships. As of late, Kohli has found working with glass an engaging and rewarding medium, as it encourages her to consider both how the finish piece would appear on its own and how it would appear in an environment. The source of her inspiration lies in her lifestyle, striving to eat right, exercise, and participating in the vast range of experience that life has to offer. She finds beauty in the relationships that she has with loved ones, reading literature to seek outside perspectives, and searching her own internal dialogue to find truth and meaning. Her pursuit to harmonize these forces results in the highly stylized impact of her art.
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| 249 Oil on Canvas |
This body of work embodies modern concern of the relationship between beauty and inhabited space. Contemporary urban life finds us constantly considering this interaction, as redesigned lofts, exposed brick halls, and the use of light cause us to gain a new appreciation for how the old can be repurposed to great effect. In this piece, the flatness of glass is explored through the vivid presentation of lively lines expressive splatter. The minimization of color augments the artworks’ relation to the space surrounding it. As the sheen of the glass combines with the contrast of the paint applied to its surface, the resulting whole of the piece encourages the viewer to become participant, actively drawing the interior through gaps in the piece. The total effect of the piece leaves the observer in a contemplative state, considering the dynamic action that takes place as space and art combine to form a new whole.
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| 393 oil on canvas 26 in. x 42 in. |
If you would like to view additional works of Natasha Kohli and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
