I first met New York-based when she was about 11 years old, and I accompanied my dad on one of his semi-regular trips to Salt Spring Island. The daughter of a friend of a friend, Danica was bright-eyed, competitive, feisty and a driven soccer player always sporting a bruised knee or two. But her creative talents shone through like a beacon even then.
Fast forward 15 years, and the 26-year-old artist has a Master of Fine Arts from the and is a 2017/18 Chubb Fellow 害羞草研究所� the highest honour the school can bestow upon its graduates 害羞草研究所� and she is selling art and making a living as an artist in one of the world害羞草研究所檚 major arts centres. In February, she had a solo show of her ballpoint pen drawings in New York, while a month-long solo show of her paintings opened March 1 in Milan, Italy. In August, she害羞草研究所檒l be exhibiting back home on Salt Spring at Steffich Fine Art.
These accomplishments are not surprising to anyone who害羞草研究所檚 ever been introduced to the artist. But as we sit and chat now, she says it all still seems a little surreal to her.
害羞草研究所淕etting into the school was a huge accomplishment,害羞草研究所� she says, shaking her head. 害羞草研究所淚 couldn害羞草研究所檛 even dream of it for a while. It felt closer to Hollywood, just a fantasy 害羞草研究所� That place is full of people I admire.害羞草研究所�
The April before her program started, Danica, along with a few other students, was invited to the school害羞草研究所檚 prestigious Tribeca Ball, where she spent the evening surrounded by the glitz of celebrity and fashion and art. In New York for several days, she remembers finding herself in a tiny alley, watching a handful of leaves caught in the chaos of a ceaseless whirlwind.
害羞草研究所淭here was this parallel feeling inside.害羞草研究所�
Once the masters program began, however, she was grounded, fast and hard.
害羞草研究所淵our first year is boot camp,害羞草研究所� she says. 害羞草研究所淵ou害羞草研究所檙e in classes from nine to six, work until midnight, then you go home and work some more.害羞草研究所� She smiles and a shrugs. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 stressful.害羞草研究所�
The summer between first and second years, she was chosen for a residency at the Leipzig International Art Programme, where she spent two months living and working on art in an old, repurposed cotton mill, before returning to school with a new sense of urgency.
害羞草研究所淏eing in New York, it害羞草研究所檚 such an invigorating, visceral place. You can害羞草研究所檛 not be propelled by that.害羞草研究所�
Work on her thesis continued in earnest, as Danica laboured on painting after painting, as well as an eight-foot-wide ballpoint pen drawing.
| An eight foot wide ballpoint pen drawing by Danica Lundy |
Danica害羞草研究所檚 hands fly in front of her as she tries to explain why she loves what she does, what she sees, how her work changed while in New York. She stopped painting from life and photographs, turning instead to the depths of her imagination, learned how to focus and 害羞草研究所渉ow to squish the spectrum of light into the spectrum of paint.害羞草研究所�
Her pieces explore the complexities of adolescence, of connection, of that feeling of being an outsider, those 害羞草研究所減ainful, awkward moments that we all pivot off of.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚 love how in painting something can be two things at once,害羞草研究所� she says. 害羞草研究所淚t can fill you up. It can empty you. I don害羞草研究所檛 necessarily paint things I like.害羞草研究所�
Rather, she害羞草研究所檚 pulled to give a voice to things that hurt, or are jarring.
Magnificent in their complexity, her canvases hold no playful poppies or soothing seashores to be displayed in a hotel lobby. Her work is visceral, complicated, physical, uncomfortable. She walks a line of contradictions with every stroke of colour: the sublime and the grotesque; intimacy pressed against voyeurism.
害羞草研究所淭hat dichotomy between repulsion and attraction is so important to me,害羞草研究所� she says. 害羞草研究所淚 walk that line constantly. I want the viewer to feel uncomfortable, to wonder if maybe she shouldn害羞草研究所檛 be looking.害羞草研究所�
Now as a Chubb Fellow at the school, Danica has the time and studio space to further explore those relationships and continue unearthing her own voice while mentoring incoming students.
The latest development in Danica害羞草研究所檚 artistic evolution was her Italian debut at the in Milan, Italy, which ran until April 6. The solo show, 害羞草研究所淭he Ghost I Made You Be,害羞草研究所� includes a significant number of her most recent works, the majority of which were created specifically for the exhibit.
害羞草研究所淭he title害羞草研究所omes from a Leonard Cohen lyric from a song called 害羞草研究所楾reaty害羞草研究所� off his final album before he died last year,害羞草研究所� she says. 害羞草研究所淭he full line is 害羞草研究所業害羞草研究所檓 sorry for the ghost I made you be/only one of us was real and that was me.害羞草研究所� Leonard, a fellow Canadian, has occupied a spot close to my heart for a long time. I think he was an exceptional poet who spent his whole life clawing at what it means to be human.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淭his line struck me as incredibly poignant,害羞草研究所� she continues. 害羞草研究所淭o me, it relates to the power structures built in the space between people, and the slow unfolding of oneself into another person, and back. I think it relates to the work I害羞草研究所檓 doing right now.害羞草研究所�
The gallery 害羞草研究所� which has purchased two of Danica害羞草研究所檚 pieces already 害羞草研究所� describes the work succinctly, as representing all of us: 害羞草研究所渦ncertain and fluctuating identities suspended between amusement and latent violence, pleasure and abuses, freedom and surveillance, frustration and unexpected poetical impulses, individualism and communion.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚 am grateful for their confidence in my work, and very much looking forward to this show,害羞草研究所� adds Danica.
Though still at the beginning of what is surely meant to become a significant and impactful artistic career, Danica has already honed in on a delicate balance of contradictions in her work, and she害羞草研究所檚 done it through endless hours of practice.
害羞草研究所淢y process is probably brutal. I害羞草研究所檓 scrappy, like I am in sports,害羞草研究所� she laughs, and I害羞草研究所檓 reminded of her 害羞草研究所淏ruise Bank,害羞草研究所� a photographic collection of her battered body post-soccer games, which she ended up felting into 害羞草研究所渇uzzy badges.害羞草研究所�
Possessed of an incredible talent, kind-hearted, gorgeous, Danica has an otherworldly quality that shines through until it seems as though sparks should fly from her fingers as she talks about her passions. But there害羞草研究所檚 no mistaking, this woman has a core of iron.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a bit of a battlefield,害羞草研究所� she says of the art world, with an offhand smile. 害羞草研究所淏ut I害羞草研究所檝e always been able to make it with drive and determination and work ethic.害羞草研究所�
- Story by Angela Cowan Photography by Lia Crowe
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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