Showing alongside Jeff Ramirez (interviewed) for their two person exhibition, Being There (teased), Pakayla Rae Biehn is finally afforded the opportunity to let her talents shine through with a large body of work, after many inclusions in various group shows over the years. Opening Saturday, May 21st at Thinkspace Gallery, the SF-based artist will further develop her unique Double Exposure series of paintings, where two compositional themes are overlayed into a unified whole, certain elements clearly defined others muted in color and blurred in resolution.
As a technique derived from and almost solely reserved for photographic applications, her ability to so gracefully achieve this signature optic feel with paint and brush could be attributed to her affinity for math, her use of computer applications to break down photographic reference images, as well as her eye disorder strabismus, which imparts a double vision like effect to her sight, all touched on during a recent interview with our friend at Erratic Phenomena. The resulting work is nothing short of majestic, a whimsical mixture of soft colors, delicate focus, enchanting imagery, idiosyncratic composition, and emotional intimacy that is evocative of a nostalgic summer daydream. Illustrating an ability to overcome, if not ingeniously integrate, her visual obstacles into the creative process itself, and with painterly expertise at the core of it all, Pakayla has produced a visceral and emotive experience both distinctive and rewarding.
Check out additional preview images after the jump.
