Linda Stark

Linda Stark creates talismanic paintings where a harmonious blend of psychic pop culture symbols, personal mythologies, and feminist concepts of the body resonates within succinct, polyphonic forms.

Biography of Linda Stark

Linda Stark was born in 1956 in San Diego, California. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Davis, in 1978 and her Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine, in 1985.

The artist has received several grants and awards, including the Regents Fellowship, University of California, Irvine (1983); Visual Artist Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts (1985); Visual Artist Fellowship, California Arts Council, Sacramento (1998); and Visual Artist Fellowship, C.O.L.A., Los Angeles (2008), among others.

Linda Stark's art has been exhibited in numerous solo shows, including "Hearts" at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles (2020); "Painted Ladies" at Jenny’s in Los Angeles (2017); "Linda Stark Matrix 250" at UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley (2013), among others.

Her works have also been featured in group exhibitions, including "New Time: Art and Feminisms in the 21st Century" at Berkeley Art Museum & PFA in Berkeley (2021); "Nasty Women" at Gavlak Gallery in Los Angeles (2020); "B.A.T. State II" at SoLa Gallery in Los Angeles (2019), and many more.

Currently, Linda Stark lives and works in Los Angeles.

Linda Stark's Art Style

Stark's art of transformation is characterized by an almost spiritual commitment to the process, meticulously layering oil on canvases, which at times require up to five years to reach completion. Stark's sustained dedication to her materials invites and demands attentive and contemplative viewership, resulting in a body of work that undeniably exudes an aura and is emotionally rich.

Stark draws upon her personal visual vocabulary, refined over decades, which seamlessly intertwines concept and technique. By transmuting the canvas through the sculptural element of a human nipple or manipulating paint to mimic the texture of textiles, Stark's tactile explorations challenge conventional perceptions of femininity through their inherent ambiguity.

With a touch of whimsy, her paintings reconfigure fundamental shapes like spirals, flames, and waves, featuring motifs like Black Widows, hearts, cats, and ovaries in an almost excessive exploration of gender-related symbolism. This virtuoso manipulation of paint coalesces into a transcendent iconography brimming with an authentic appreciation for the sensuous materiality of her work.

She employs a meticulous and distinctive approach to mark-making, resulting in paintings and drawings that disrupt conventional ideas and societal norms surrounding femininity. Stark juxtaposes imagery frequently linked with women, like animated hearts, jewelry, and dresses, with more unsettling or mystical elements, such as insects, genitalia, and ancient ruins. These juxtapositions frequently infuse the work with a psychedelic or cartoon-like quality.