Natalie Wadlington Backyards

Exhibitions

Natalie Wadlington: Backyards
May 14 - June 17, 2021

Artwork Images

Louis Buhl & Co. is pleased to present Backyards, a solo exhibition of unique works on paper by Natalie Wadlington, opening Friday, May 14th. Wadlington is a Texas-based artist who creates works that are based in storytelling and figuration. Her characters are wide-eyed with wonderment and fear as they navigate various environments and encounters with both wild and domesticated animals. For Backyards, Wadlington has created a series of drawings using various mediums and scales. The works featured are tied together by common themes surrounding observation of the natural world and its inhabitants.

Wadlington’s works are layered in their defense of our innate connection to other species in the natural world, which is an idea she reinforces through each aspect of her process, from composition and hierarchy to texture, color, light and shadow. The featured pieces are undeniably whimsical, however, Wadlington’s insight and care means that every decision is made in the spirit of mutualism and with respect to real-life environmental nuance. One of the most prominent characteristics of her unique works is compositional unity, where the curves of figurative bodies break and continue on the outline of a dog, fish, or bird, connecting human and animal in an infinite loop of mutual dependence. While Wadlington’s works are rooted in this rapport, Backyards exemplifies her gradual shift in focus onto animals, choosing to eliminate humans from some of the scenes entirely. Still, where a human cannot be seen, his or her presence outside of the frame is implied; whether it’s a bridge, a piece of trash, a tire, or an abandoned shopping cart, even the most natural of spaces are domesticated. 

One thing that is special about the featured body of work is Wadlington’s introduction of graphite, the exhibition debuting a new avenue of expression for the artist. Nearly impossible to achieve in her oil paintings, the detail and depth that graphite allows has served as a catalyst in Wadlington’s continuous exploration of the medium. Says Wadlington: “[All of the drawings in the show] could be paintings, but the level of detail and delicacy I can achieve with the graphite [is much greater]. I don’t paint like that — my paintings are looser, more gestural, more physical… it’s a totally different way of thinking.”  

In addition to graphite, Wadlington uses acrylic, oil pastel, and watercolor pencil to complete the series. Offering a distant glimpse into Wadlington’s creative process, the variation in works paired with their salon-style layout pay homage to Wadlington’s studio, where anything from quick sketches to detailed color studies for her large-scale oil paintings fill the walls. Her works invite the viewer to take time with each one; the imagery is specific, but not so much that it eliminates room for interpretation or curiosity. “The scenes aren’t verbatim from my childhood, they’re a fusion of different imagery from my Grandma’s backyard, my Aunt’s backyard, from friends’ homes… [each scene] can be any place because I’m inventing it,” says Wadlington. The ordinary atmospheres that the artist invents through a culmination of her memories growing up are universally recognizable. Subsequently, the imagery projects back onto the viewer, inciting recollections and reflections of personal moments from his or her past. It is this power to evoke a plethora of intimate emotions within the audience that makes for a multi-layered and engaging experience.

Natalie Wadlington: Backyards will be on display at Louis Buhl & Co. from May 14 through June 17, 2021.

Artwork Images

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