If we could makeout with framed art, we’d take along breath mints to Stella Im Hultberg’s shows.
While beautiful and half-clothed women are no strangers to paintings, there’s just something about the fragile beauty, wispy movements and dewey skin tones of this New Yorker’s paintings that make us want to crawl into bed with them. We chatted with their creator about the L.A. art scene, her upcoming piece for the Literartistry show at the Corey Helford Gallery and... Fonzie.
Have you told your day job to eff off yet?
Well, I've only freelanced, so I wish I could have told someone to eff off. I only slowly (timidly) washed the jobs out of my hair since about a year ago.
How long have you lived in NYC?
It's been almost 4 years, [but] it feels like it's been forever. Ironically, I used to live in L.A. before moving to NYC.
How did you get hooked up with the L.A. art scene?
It all happened by luck and accident. I posted some images I did online on LiveJournal, and then it all went from there. I guess [the L.A.] scene is large … yet all interwoven and small in a way.
What book was your inspiration for Literartistry?
I chose one of my favorite books, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle,” by Haruki Murakami. He's been a favorite author of mine since I first read “Norwegian Wood” in high school. I thought Wind-Up Bird would be a good challenge, and it has been! Trying to capture some essences of the story without being literal—it's almost like trying to convey exactly what you dreamed about last night... it's never that exact.
Favorite medium to work in?
Oil paint! And ink or watercolor’s great, too. I love both for the exact opposite reasons. But I love ink: the way it flows, the unruliness of it.
Is the muted, warm color palette of your most recent work influenced by something specific? It reminds me of worn old book pages, but perhaps it comes from pudding or Fonzie…
(Laughs) It definitely doesn't come from Fonzie (or does it?!). I did start staining my paper with tea, inspired by old vintage paper and books, and the muted tones work better for me than bright, bold color palettes. I feel like colors can be more harmonious when muted a little bit—kind of like people.
Drool over her gallery of recent work at the Literartistry show at Culver City's Corey Helford Gallery through September 8.
Alie Ward is Events editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
