Liv Aanrud ( b.1979) earned her B.F.A in painting (2001) from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire and her M.F.A (2011) from Mason Gross School of Art, Rutgers University. Liv has taught at ARTworks Charter School, Santa Barbara City College, the Armory Center for the Arts, and has led workshops in the U.S and Canada. Aanrud’s work has been the subject of one-person exhibitions at Kravets Wehby Gallery in New York City, and BozoMag, New Image Art, Arvia, 1700 Naud and TSA-LA in Los Angeles. Solo shows also include Finlandia University in Hancock MI, Sierra Nevada College, Lake Tahoe, Pamela Salisbury Gallery, and John Davis Gallery, Hudson, NY, Oasis Gallery, Marquette, MI and Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, New York City. Her work has been shown in group exhibitions across the U.S., Taiwan, Germany, and Spain. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Drawing from personal experiences and travels, my lush, maximalist compositions depict female figures as doubles, inviting the viewer to wonder whether they are reflections, two separate figures or one woman in various stages of being. Their bodies are ornate, and the objects depicted within their framework are at once symbols, clues to a narrative, or perhaps they point at interconnectedness: a rejection of the human vs nature binary. I aim to disrupt the traditional male gaze by blurring the boundaries of figure and ground; the women merge seamlessly with their surroundings and are totally integrated into a post-patriarchal world. Through intricate details and a psychedelic palette, I hope to transport viewers to a dreamlike utopia where they are left to slowly and joyously decode the language of these bodies.

Exhibition:

Mythology/Matriarchy