Interview, Sept, 2005 by Justin Conner
"I listened to Jimi Hendrix pretty much nonstop while doing this painting," says Brooklyn-based artist Angela Dufresne about one of her newest works. Considering the 36-year-old painter's penchant for amplified colors and large canvases, psychedelic inspiration comes as no surprise. Electrified by a bold palette, her landscapes are infused with modernist structures that evoke the spirit of visionary architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and Walter Gropius, and her buildings recall the romance the world once had with the ideals of modernism and its promises to transform everyday life. "It's almost like I'm resurrecting that romantic fantasy of whatever modernists wanted to achieve. Instead, we're surrounded with strip malls and suburbs." Because of her original perspective and vibrant execution, Dufresne has begun to draw not only attention but also respect in the art world. She made her New York City solo debut at Monya Rowe gallery this past winter and is currently showing in "Greater New York 2005" at the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens. Her fantastical canvases and even the convoluted and whimsical titles of her work--"Me and Bruce Lee and Another Famous but Unnameable Man on the Shore in Front of an Unmade Building by Frank Lloyd Wright Called the Donahue Triptych"--tell beautiful stories about a world in which architectural gems can be experienced just by looking out your window or walking through any door.
Justin Conner is an editorial assistant at Interview.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group
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