Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalja Kent.
Hi Natalja, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My earliest memories of experimentation with pigments and form are in my mother’s art studio as a young child. As the daughter of an immigrant painter/engineer and a painter/sculptor, I was tracked from the start to be a practicing fine artist. I was drawn to oil painting and photography in my teen years. Moving into installation, photography, drawing and integration of my bands/community practices in my 20s, I was a part of several museums exhibiting art collectives. Working in Los Angeles has shifted my work towards questions of light, the ocean, feminism and healing.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I believe one of the roles an artist plays is the “querent” or the one who asks questions. When you are in the mode of questioning what’s around you and why, you do not always resonate with the society at large. This can cause friction, and for some it is a fodder for a thriving art practice. It can lead to personal, interpersonal or societal change — and it can also lead to nothing. Finding a space for these shifting dialogues, as experimental as they may be, can be challenging.
I’ve noticed that many artists find certain veins of work that are successful a few times in their careers. They can choose to stick with those “known good” aesthetics/practices or continue to grow and change. I am a person endlessly fascinated by growth, so I will not always fit into a category someone would like to keep me within, i.e., photographer, sculptor, or painter. This has been a challenge for me, but I know I am acting in accord with my truth — and that is the best reward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Over the last seven years, I have developed a technique I call “Chromograms”. They are highly vibrant colorfields made by an instructional, uncontrolled process. The process involves meditating in a pitch-black room, laying light-sensitive paper on a table in the room, doing a moment meditation with flashlights and objects then processing the paper so it is stable in the light. I use these colorfields as instructions for paintings, public art, sculptures and VR.
I have a large public mural of the work launching this summer in Los Angeles as well as a sculpture in Wassaic, NY.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Nothing in my process of making Chromograms is digital. Last summer at my solo exhibition at Foreland Catskill with Situations Gallery I spoke with many people coming to see the work who thought the colorfields were made using a computer. It is all a completely analog, body-oriented practice. I consider the message of this medium choice — centering the wisdom in my body’s movements and the mark-making that happens in that meditative space as deeply feminist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nataljakent.com/
- Instagram: @Natalja_Kent
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natalja.kent/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalja-kent/
- Other: Band Camp: https://psychicparking.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2021
Image Credits
For the installation shots: “Photo courtesy Situations Gallery”
