Exhibition #110 – Linda Linko: Not Just One

“I had a long career as an illustrator before my primary focus shifted towards fine art. Although I have drawn inspiration from many sources, illustration has largely shaped the way I see the world — sometimes from a perspective that is perhaps too close-up. Illustration often plays with current phenomena and stereotypes that shift rapidly with the times. The eye must be sensitive to change and the prevailing currents of the moment, and capable of translating this “shifting code” into a form the viewer can understand. A good illustration is a deliberate sum of details. When representing people, one must be extremely precise about how things are depicted; there is a responsibility involved, too. I have engaged in numerous highly detailed discussions—for instance, about what constitutes a recognisable calf thickness for a middle-aged woman in an image.

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Real life, of course, is something else entirely.

When painting, I often strive to unlearn everything I have learned.

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Sometimes it is hard to let go of the details. For me, painting faces is a relaxing form of play; it allows me to depict a person in a kind of in-between state — listening, observing from the sidelines, surprised or bewildered, slightly hazy, or conflicted. Beyond control, out of the public gaze, not performing. I believe that in these undefined moments, a person reveals their most interesting self.

For we are never just one.

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I begin a painting with a single thought and intentionally change direction multiple times. During the process, elements such as age, gender, colours, and moods are allowed — and indeed expected — to change. I let the painting lead the way it wants to go. I know it is finished when it strikes the right balance between the familiar and the slightly quirky.

I do not call my paintings portraits, even though I often hear them referred to as such. To me, they feel more like heads — heads resting with their own weight upon necks and shoulders, which I often intentionally leave out of the frame.

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While working on this exhibition, it became clear to me that these heads often serve as the starting point for my painting process. After a break, I often begin by painting faces in watercolour; through repetition, they open up new ideas regarding colour, form, and the mood of the moment. At some stage in the process, the forms break free and take on a life of their own, becoming abstract. You could say that abstraction often begins where the heads recede; it is an endless cycle — one cannot exist without the other.

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This time, I have noticed a certain sense of awkwardness — in a good way — present in my paintings. I have a figure in mind — or rather, a movement — that connects memories of an excruciating dance competition (in which I participated) with the feeling of being shy yet dressed in my best for a school spring celebration. There is something beautiful and memorable about awkwardness. Why, after all, do we try so hard to smooth out this side of ourselves?”

– Linda Linko