An ever changing, always amazing artist
“For some to think that we have dominance over the planet,” abstract artist Anna Carll says as she describes the inspiration for her “Erosion Series”, “Mother Nature will push her way back in if civilizations aren’t maintained.”
Anna interlaces the yin yang relationship of society and serenity to a complex representation in her Botanicals body of work especially the Urban Botanicals that include vibrant blues, soft reds and slate grays. A wonderful balance of industry and environment, cold and warmth is mixed within Anna’s multilayer repurposed pieces that give life to what was thought to have found its end.
“Observing the natural decay of the life cycle has made me appreciate that within reduction, the more possibility there will be,” she says as we stroll through the studio.
What is referred to in the art world as the Modern Botanical Movement, this style of art encapsulates natural elements like flora and fauna but for abstract artists, like Anna, the image does not develop into a pristine picture of a lush landscape.
Anna’s work delves deeper into the environmental inspiration and takes botanical shapes like pods, leaves or blossoms and incorporates them with rustic texture into abstraction.
“Once color and chaos is achieved across the surface, the pieces then go up on my painting wall where I begin the reduction process,” she says as we walk over to a large scale work currently under construction. “Making these paintings is as much a physical experience as a psychological one.”
The merge of colors and crisp lines are boldly impactful to leave any onlooker with a wanderlust to revisit the concrete jungle with a new perspective anticipating to find some hope of positive reconstruction.
Anna also has a “Character Botanicals” collection that integrates text and symbols to add even more of an uncivilized civilization portrayal. She values Wabi-sabi, a traditional Japanese aesthetic that is derived from Buddhists which prefers the “acceptance of transience and imperfection” and therefore encourages the finished product to look incomplete.
Recently dabbling in book arts, which are more for her personal collection than for public purchase, Anna is enjoying manipulating an old art into a new media. “Leave Us” is currently displayed at the Jewish Cultural Center on 5461 North Terrace Road in Chattanooga. With thirty artists represented, the exhibit “Leaves” will be available now through November 29.
Components utilized in her artistic expressions range from good old paint to 300 lb. watercolor paper to twine to rebar.
“I embrace and process the nuances of this work and use the outcome as a vehicle to communicate a narrative about the natural world around me that exists outside of language,” Anna explains.
Anna Carll said goodbye to the seasons of steady corporate work and left the graphic design grind in 1999, and began a new successful direction creating abstract art.
“More than twenty years ago before the days of Desktop Publisher, a graphic designer was required to physically draw,” she says.
She continues to describe how computers were not an intricate part of daily work regiment nor to receive her degree. Once she saw the artistic demand change with the increase of technology, she decided to make an exit from the graphic design studios and went back to the drawing board.
Living in the Highland Park area for the past six years, Anna has been making her mark in the Chattanooga arts community as she is a member of the Association for Visual Arts as well as FLAG: Friends of Local Artists and Galleries (Chattanooga). Recently partaking in the Gallery Hop a few weeks ago, Anna collaborated with five other artists to showcase their skills.
With her work consistently requested at York & Friends Fine Art Gallery in Nashville, Anna has not had opportunities to set up regularly occurring exhibits in Chattanooga however her art can be seen in collections at the Erlanger Medical Mall and the Edwin Hotel.
“Although most demands in Chattanooga are for traditional art like landscapes and still life,” Anna explains, as her style is abstract and therefore not as frequently solicited locally, “the market is starting to mature.”
Anna, with some other beloved artist friends, will have a pop up gallery exhibit during Mainx24 in the Tempus Gallery at 61 East Main Street on Saturday, December 1st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To offer one-of-a-kind gift options, she will have several smaller, more affordable pieces available alongside some wall mounted, massive creations. Peruse her works on her website at annacarll.com or reach out to her for a studio visit at annacarllfineart@gmail.com.