We didn’t think that this issue would be complete without these stunningly surreal oil paintings by Nebraska artist Kristin Kwan—that gleaming unicorn, those sprays of delicate shrooms, and that gorgeous girl weeping pearly tears under an ntoinette-worthy coiffure of curly oyster mushrooms. We’re more than a little obsessed. (Who could cry amid so much beauty? Therein lies a story …)
Kwan told us that she’s always been inspired by the natural world and that growing up, what she most loved to do—even more than drawing—was ride her bike out of town and spend a whole day wandering through the woods.
When we asked why mushrooms (though of course mushrooms!), she said, “First off, they’re just so visually appealing. They grow in such an infinite variety of shapes and textures that just beg to be painted.” Their way of life is fascinating to her as well: “Being neither plant nor animal, the symbiotic relationships some have with plants, the way they appear like magic—they’re always so exciting to find on a walk, so familiar and foreign at the same time.”
She told us about the two fungally inflected pieces we’re featuring here: Multitudes (above) was created for a group show with a mushroom theme. In her contribution, she wanted “to echo the dappled coat of the unicorn in the pattern of mushrooms.” In Oyster (right), the pattern of the gills was interesting to explore and challenging to create. “They’re not the most scientifically accurate oyster mushrooms,” she said, “but ultimately, the girl really is the oyster in this painting, making pearls.”
Each piece, she told us, “becomes almost an excuse to sit and explore an object or scene in a deep way.” When she observes her subject up close like this, she starts to see in a way that she rarely gets to do in day-to-day life: The thing itself almost disappears, and a whole new dimension of colors and textures opens itself to exploration. “The painting becomes a pretext to enter this world and stay there, struggling with the materials but getting the gift of seeing beauty in every small detail.” In this way, she says, she brings “the joy of seeing, the stillness in just looking,” to her art.
Learn more about Kristin Kwan’s work at kristinkwan.com or visit her on Instagram @kristinkwanart.
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Enchanted Living is a quarterly print magazine that celebrates all things enchanted.
