Informed by religion and mythology, these paintings speak to the complexity of the human condition. Starting in the fanciful and idealized world of the mind, each is a cautionary tale of love and power. Yet, the paint is created from something that can be held in my hands. To begin a composition, I start with scissors, clipping fragments, composing from snippets of several hundred pictures scattered about me on the floor. What is created is a prototype collage of layered scraps with cut edges. Some are photographs of me while others are cut up illustrations from art history. Looking at this collage, a painting is executed in a trompe l'oeil manner showing the multiple layers with cut edges which suggest the complexity of individual's psychologies – their masks and their hidden secrets.
By studying with art conservators and looking at the old masters, I choose to revitalize the archaic traditions of both traditional oil painting oil, and egg tempera. As an artist and subject in my work, I consider myself to be the steward and ax man to art's legacy by cutting and serving up the reinvigorated past to be contemplated in context of the contemporary.
Bio
Carrie Ann Baade is an internationally exhibiting artist whose surreal oil paintings are rich with allegorical meta-narratives inspired by literature and art history. She has been awarded the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs Individual Artist Fellowship, the Delaware Division of the Arts Fellowship for Established Artist, and a nomination for the prestigious United States Artist Fellowship. Exhibiting widely with the Pop Surrealists and her paintings have been featured in Metamorphosis, a survey of the top, contemporary Visionary Surrealists and will be included in the upcoming exhibit Suggestivism curated by Nathan Spoor, at the Grand Central Art Center in California.
Baade received her Masters in Painting from the University of Delaware where she expanded her knowledge of materials and techniques under the guidance professors of art conservation. She received her B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago that included one year of study at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy. Her works has been reviewed and the subject of features in the NY ARTS Magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Austin Chronicle, the Colorado Springs Independent, the Albuquerque Journal, and Philadelphia Today. Recent solo exhibitions include: the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, the Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia, Billy Shire Fine Arts in Los Angeles, and the Ningbo Art Museum in China. Currently, Carrie is an Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at Florida State University accompanied by her polydactyl cat.
As an artist and subject in my work, I serve as the steward and the ax man to art's legacy. Studying with art conservators and looking at the old masters has informed my choice to revitalize the archaic traditions of both traditional oil painting and egg tempera. My subjects are adopted from religion and mythology; these are often cautionary tales that mirror my personal experience. In desiring to speak to the complexity of the human condition, I use this language of allegory and narrative to relate my own story, which is at once an age old.
The ideas for my work may start in the fanciful and idealized world of the mind, yet something must be generated to observe from. To begin a composition, I start with scissors, clipping fragments, composing from snippets of several hundred pictures scattered about me on the floor. A prototype collage of layered scraps with cut edges is created that includes an array of photographs and images from art history. Looking at this collage, a painting is executed in a trompe l'oeil manner showing the multiple layers with cut edges which suggest the complexity of individual's psychologies – their masks and their hidden secrets. To create these paintings, I cut up and serve the reinvigorated past to be contemplated in context of the contemporary.
