Larissa Virdee
Degree: Fashion Design (with Knitwear) BA Hons - First-Class Hons
University: Central Saint Martins
Graduation Year: 2006
New Blood Art Commentary
Larissa Virdee’s paintings are busy. They are full of texture, energy, repetition and life. If you read these words without seeing the artwork, you might imagine scenes of chaos, collision, of disruption. Looking at the paintings, the inverse is true. Their dynamism makes the images full of interest and intrigue, yet they always retain a sense of control, a self-awareness. The harmony of nature, often in the form of shells and botany, is the base for the works' characteristic stylisation, her still life forms instantly recognisable as being of the natural world. Yet, transformed, abstracted, and with a skewed sense of colour, they take us somewhere else, evoking, in Virdee’s words: “joy, sensuality, and escapism”. Perhaps, we might attribute the softness of colour, tone and mark-making to her background in fashion, where the soft materiality of fabric contrasts the often hard edges and rectangular forms so common in the art world. It is these qualities that make Virdee an artist to look out for, with her work recently selected by David Collins Studio for a number of high profile projects, including Harrods and Café de Paris Monaco, making her a name to keep an eye on over the coming months.
Artist Statement
Throughout my work, I intensely and intricately explore nature and botanical subjects and their surroundings. My work demonstrates a stylised way of painting the concept as I see it. I use reflection, repetition and texture which stems from my background in textile design. The paintings I create are sensual, exotic and can be both invigorating or calming to the eye. I like to restrict my colour palette and paint using different saturation levels of the tones and pigments chosen. I layer colour and shape with the occasional unexpected colour combination. I want my work to evoke joy, sensuality and escapism through my colour palettes and subjects. I paint in mixed media mostly, and in natural light, strategically abstracting still life and the surroundings as I see them. I have my own visualisation of my subjects, which then translates into a finely produced abstract concept.