Featured Artist

Gina Soo Golden: Surrealism Like the Old Masters

photo of painting titled Phil Jr. and the Oranges by Gina Soo Golden, in the artist's studio

The fruit on Gina Golden’s canvas is more luscious and vibrant than the real oranges in the still life she has arranged nearby. Golden strives for this kind of mouth watering realism in her oil paintings. But that’s only one aspect of her artistic vision. In other work displayed in her home and studio, located in Indianapolis’ Fountain Square area, she’s applied her technical skills to imagery from her memory and imagination. As she puts it, “I like to mix realism and surrealism.” “I aim to give a visual definition of feelings one could never quite describe with words,” she has written in her artist statement.

Like William-Adolphe Bouguereau, a Victorian era artist she deeply admires, Golden uses the vocabulary of the human figure along with classical themes to create a sense of narrative. Her playful, contemporary take on mythological subjects is evident in the series Minor Gods, Major Distractions, including such paintings as Cupid and Psyche on the Rocks with a Twist.

Golden’s artistic interests and talents seem almost inevitable, after learning about her family background. “I wanted to do everything my grandfather did,” she recalls. He was a visual artist, as was her maternal grandmother. And it doesn’t stop there. Featured Artist Continued >>

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