The Untitled Space gallery is pleased to present a debut solo exhibition of works by artist Fahren Feingold opening September 26th and on view through October 8th, 2017. The exhibition, curated by gallery director Indira Cesarine, will feature over fifty watercolors by the artist, who will be presenting a new series of large-scale watercolor paintings along with many of her signature works.
Touted as “a trailblazing artist on a meteoric rise” by Vogue, watercolor artist Fahren Feingold brings an ethereal state to her unique paintings depicting the female form. Her watercolors featuring bold feminine nudes reference imagery from early 20th century French erotica, 70s & 80s American vintage magazines, and today’s Internet girls.
The Los Angeles native moved to New York at the age of seventeen to study at the Parsons School of Design. After earning her BFA between Parsons and Glasgow School of Art, she worked as a fashion designer for top brands including Ralph Lauren, Nicole Miller, and J.Crew, among others. In 2016, her dreamy watercolors caught the eye of the legendary Nick Knight, who commissioned her to illustrate Paris Fashion Week for SHOWStudio. Between 2016 – 2017, her work has been featured in numerous international exhibitions, including “Moving Kate” curated by Nick Knight at ShowStudio in London and The Mass in Tokyo, Japan, “The Vulgar” at The Barbican, London curated by Judith Clark and Adam Phillips, “Red Hot Wicked” at Studio C Gallery in Los Angeles, as well as The Untitled Space group shows “Uprise / Angry Women” and “Secret Garden” curated by Indira Cesarine and “Lifeforce” curated by Kelsey and Remy Bennett.
Over the past few years, her watercolors have steadily gained recognition from collectors and critics alike for their sensitive, dreamlike colors, graceful brush stokes and rendition of the female nude. Vice Creators praised her work stating, “Feingold’s watercolors appear to swim on paper. Her figures bloom and radiate with ethereal energy, and the occasional splash of bright colors imbues them with life.” V Magazine noted her as a “particular standout” while the Huffington Post said, “Fahren Feingold captures the space where the ethereal meets the erotic…Her artwork is an attempt to undo the centuries of censorship, shaming and patriarchal politics that clouds the simple beauty of a naked body.” Through her erotic depictions, Feingold gives new voices to women of the past and present, while exploring larger notions of female constructs in today’s society. With her palette of bright pastels and soft colors blending together, she invites the viewer to step inside her dreamlike erotic world.
Nude paintings are a beautiful part of our history in art and culturally. Yet there still remain a lot of people who are frightened by nudity (their own and others). I paint the female figure as others before me, and continue to push boundaries by exploring current political constructs of feminism through erotic imagery. My brushstrokes are languid as I paint in a ‘wet’ style of watercolors, using many complimentary colors, which wash together in an almost ghostly spirit. This soothing technique, normally used for flowers and landscapes, I manipulate as a veil to present my direct and often bold messages about female sexuality, empowerment and equality.
When I paint a woman, I imagine giving back her emotional voice, where she may have felt stifled otherwise. I don’t look to paint people as they look, but rather as I feel them, which is why viewers will often not know the natural skin color – since I paint in watery aura like dreamy colors. When someone stands in front of my painting, I hope they really take a moment with it. I want my viewers to see feminine humanity, intimate beauty, and fearless ethos above all else – because that is the core of all women.
(Fahren Feingold)