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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWBORN:
PAINTINGS BY LAURIE STEELINK

Curated by Kristine McKenna

THROUGH, JANUARY 8, 2011
CLOSING RECEPTION ON FRIDAY,
JANUARY 7 from 6-8 P.M.

Track 16 is pleased to present Newborn, an exhibition of new paintings by Laurie Steelink. The exhibition will run through January 8, 2010. Regular gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday from noon to 6 P.M.

Trained in the sculpture & performance art departments at the San Francisco Art Institute Steelink began work on this series of oversized organic abstractions, rendered in acrylic on paper, in 2009. Reflecting an interest in molecular structure that's been with her since childhood, the work is unashamedly psychedelic, and pulsating with an ecstatic, throbbing beauty; as in the kaleidoscopic art of Fred Tomaselli, her paintings map the microcosm and the macrocosm, and are alive to the pleasure principle. Steelink cites Yayoi Kusama, Harry Smith, and Sun Ra as key influences, and as is the case with those singular figures, Steelink creates art that’s impervious to trend or commercial concerns. Her paintings in Newborn are highly personal — each piece is produced in response to transformative events in her life.

In a recent interview Steelink had this to say about Newborn: “I've always been interested in shamanism and mind expansion, and these paintings were born out of my ongoing search for a way to work through, and understand, a new combination of emotions. I never know where a painting will go when I begin it; they grow intuitively and rhythmically, guided by what’s going on in my head, and the music I'm listening to; that can range from experimental and bebop, to avant garde jazz and psychedelic rock. I want the work to unfurl like a musical composition with the power to alter the viewer's molecular structure, and take he or she on a journey leading to a shift in consciousness. Sex and love spells intended for the world are present in the work.”