Art

Item Description

Painting study for Magnolia Landscape II by artist Christina Juran courtesy of the New Orleans Art Center. Acrylic on acid free artist watercolor paper. Framed 19 1/2 x 16 3/4 inches. The painting "Magnolia Landscape II" has been exhibited at the New Orleans Art Center and The Swedish American Museum in Chicago. 

Background: b. 1968. Christina grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a close knit family, one of six kids. As a child, she loved to study the paintings by her grandpa, a Swedish artist and the hand drawn cards by her mother. Always mesmerized by the myriad works of art in her surroundings and the great outdoors, the sounds, shapes, colors, smells still provide endless enjoyment and material which continue to shape her work. After studying art at Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi in 1988 (Israel) and completing her BA with honors in Studio Art in 1991 at Carleton College (MN), Christina headed to New Mexico where she began exhibiting her work in 1993. In 1998, Christina returned to New Orleans and settled in the French Quarter where she was represented by the former Galerie Lafitte under owners Herman Kron, metal furniture artist/creator of Bristle Magic Paintbrush Cleaner, and Alexandra Monet, curator/art director for many years in the States and in Belgium. In 2005, coinciding with Hurricane Katrina, Tina moved to northern California to join Herman and maintained her studio in an old converted chicken house in Two Rock. Recently, the two returned “home sweet home” to New Orleans and reside in the bustling growing St. Claude Arts District where they have opened an art center/gallery/and studios.

Artist’s Statement
 

“I love to paint; I love color and am intrigued by form. Most of my paintings (and developing sculptures!) are inspired by my surroundings –the land and water (different regions of the country), nature, flowers, spaces, people, found objects, rhythms. Some are direct snapshots from my dreams. I paint/sketch in the studio and outdoors often directly from the subject in the hopes of capturing its unique expression, feeling, or movement. Many of my more ‘abstract’ works come from the actual ‘real’ forms I see when I sketch. A particularly favorite subject of mine over time has been the dear magnolia whose renditions reflect this concept.   I am in awe of nature and the infinite incomprehensible beauty and forms of life around us. I thank all who have come before, all of my instructors and incredibly supportive, and encouraging family, friends, and collectors who make it possible for me to share and make my work available to you. Enjoy!”