Brace yourself for a vibrant new collection of work with Super Future Kid‘s solo exhibition ‘Extendable Realities : Change Everything You Are’ at Artists Republic Gallery, opening Saturday, May 7, 2016. Steeped in childhood reverie, the captivating expressions and neon palettes of Super Future Kid’s paintings invite you to travel through her wildly galactic imagination.
“My work is largely based on themes that strongly relate to certain ideas of childhood and youth, a time that still has a great influence on my personality and artistic identity. I am deeply fascinated with the perception and perspective on the world from the view of an adolescent mind, and recently particularly in related ideas of mystery and strangeness, games and playfulness. Those ideas include the realms of spirituality, the occult, myths and curiosities as well as themes of character identity such as the play of dressing up and costumes and lastly the idea of the freedom of the youthful spirit itself. The medium of Painting serves me as a very sensual tool in this respect. Paint is a very primal substance that constantly evokes my curiosity. I am also fascinated by its power to create a whole world of its own, an entirely non-verbal space. Most of all do I see the act of painting as an ongoing extension of my own childhood, it allows me to explore ideas that are deeply rooted within myself and therefore help me to continuously map out and shape my identity as an artist and in the end as a human being.”
Super Future Kid | ‘Extendable Realities : Change Everything You Are’
Opening Reception:
Saturday, May 7, 2016 | 6-9PM
The artist will attend
Exhibition Dates:
May 7 – June 19, 2016
Artists Republic Gallery
1175 South Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA. Parking meters free after 7PM
Gallery hours: Thurs-Sun 12-6PM and by appointment.
Press Release:
Artists Republic is pleased to showcase Extendable Realities : Change Everything You Are, a solo show by Super Future Kid.
Super Future Kid is a London based artist with a love for bold colors and imagery tied to her childhood. She looks to her youth as inspiration for her playful, elaborate and bright scenes. Due to her experiences early in life, she has gained an appreciation for the complexities of her surroundings in everyday life and popular culture.
Growing up in East Germany during the 1980’s meant for a very isolated upbringing. Super Future Kid experienced a childhood full of propaganda and little diversity when it came to art and color. She resorted to her imagination and didn’t necessarily feel that she was missing out on anything. Once the Berlin Wall was down and she was exposed to the extremely different lifestyle in West Germany, it was a whole new world full of bright colors and things she never knew existed. Upon viewing her work, you get a sense of the wonderland she was now exposed to after a very isolated childhood.
In Super Future Kid’s recent works, viewers will get a glimpse into her creative mind. As she puts it in her artist’s statement, she draws inspiration from three things above all else…”the world of plastic toys, the realms of dreams and the vastness of space.” It is clear that she creates a reality based on a dreamlike feeling and utilizes colors that could be associated with a children’s toy store. SFK definitely makes her own rules when it comes to the space that she creates on canvas, in turn leading the viewer to feel an escape from reality. Although there is depth to this concept, her paintings always have a sense of playfulness and often bring joy to the viewer instantly.
Super Future Kid creates paintings that bring the viewer back to their own childhood through imagery or simply her bright color palette. Along with creating a dreamlike reality, SFK also uses her art to find out more about herself. “Most of all, however, do I see my practice and the act of making art as an ongoing extension of my own childhood. It allows me to explore ideas that are deeply rooted within myself and therefore help me to continuously map out and shape my identity as an artist, and in the end as a human being.”
About The Artist:
Born in East Germany, Super Future Kid is a painter currently living and working in London, England. Her mixed media paintings explore a wide range of subjects. Employing a load of bold colors in oils, acrylics, gouache and spray paint, SFK combines seemingly unrelated ideas to a joyful chaos that synthesizes banality with the extraordinary and provides a platform, which is emotionally engaging and gives the observer an opportunity to discover places of a dreamlike reality. Super Future Kid attended the Chelsea Collage of Art and Design and the Academy of Art Berlin Weissensee where she graduated with a Diploma in Textile and Surface Design in 2008. Since then, she has participated in several shows nationally and internationally in cities including London, New York and Berlin.
About Artists Republic:
Since opening its doors in 2010, Artists Republic has been one of Orange County’s premier venues for new contemporary art. Located in Laguna Beach, CA, the gallery is dedicated to the support of emerging and mid-career artists whose work has impacted and influenced lives through youth culture. Artists Republic is located at 1175 S. Coast Hwy in Laguna Beach and specializes in original works, prints, books and more.
About The New Contemporary Movement:
The New Contemporary movement, widely acknowledged to have begun in the early 90’s on the West Coast, evolved in reaction to a conceptual turn in fine art. Founded in part on a rejection of the arbitrary division of visual culture that tends to elevate “high art” above the social and popular realms, the movement invoked the countercultural and drew content from an immersion in social experience. The standard of excessive academicism and abstraction, against which it grew, was commonly held in higher regard than more figurative, graphic or representational forms of art. This marginalization inspired the New Contemporary movement to set its own terms and create its own context for the reception of its work. With a renewed emphasis on technical skill, narrative and representation, it has encouraged a social return in art. Moving away from the standard art education model that demands graduate school, an excess of critical rhetoric and art world careerism, these artists, many of whom are self-taught, have sought their own inspiration and voice instead, drawing on everything from popular culture and social media platforms, to street art, murals and graffiti. By creating a distinct community in support of the diversity of its visions and styles, the movement has mortared and upheld its own invisible school.
