SYDNEY DUNCAN
Sydney Duncan, Blow My Mind, 2013, Mixed media, 4.5” x 24”
Sydney Duncan focuses her art on people. Her series of portraits is intensely biographical, looking at different stages of a relationship inspired by her own experiences. “It was portfolio review day, and I was giving in to all the insecurity, feeling mediocre when I talked to my boyfriend, who was studying in Italy, taking art classes—it was incredible how stuff was getting to me.” Mediocre is, of course, the last word to describe her work. Duncan’s pieces are also collage, tissue paper on art paper, watercolor, pencil, and ink. “I really liked the process with the tissue paper glued over the other. I’m going to be using that more,” she says. Her human images are balanced with geometric ones, creating a sense of juxtaposition that really works. She shows an image of a friend: “Jesse is a really big guy, so I wanted to sit him in this tiny chair that we got from a preschool. I added the video-gaming stuff, the soda, all the things that he tends to fall back on, and I didn’t want the color to be totally precise. “I think a lot of times people just assume there’s a huge personal story behind your art, but for me, I sometimes don’t think; I just go
to the canvas and start. I love making things, that’s all I can say.” Duncan hasn’t yet made any final decisions about what to do. Painting, fashion design, film design . . . it all appeals to her. “I’ve applied to colleges, lots of different ones. That can help me make the decision,” she says.
ANNIKA VIRDEN “I usually work with small paper, so this is really outside my normal bubble,” Annika Virden says. She sees the big pieces as a sketchbook explosion, in her case working with earthy tones and inspired by everyday objects like the wallet she bought on a trip to Germany, a lantern, and other pieces from daily life. Working in watercolor and collage is typical for her. “I’ve had sketchbooks since before I could write,” she says. “I have whole boxes of them at home, full of drawings and collages. I come from a really creative family. My mom is an art and French teacher; my dad and my brother both make things.” In Huttenberg, Annika created a clean black-and-white image of a fine dinner plate, with a simple home instead 98 | January 2O14 NashvilleArts.com
Annika Virden, Half-Rest, 2013, Watercolor, ink, graphite, 11” x 11”