The Brightest Flame

Modern Eden Gallery is pleased to present Exquisite Corpse, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Seattle-based artist Redd Walitzki. Redd Walitzki returns to the gallery with a series rooted in the transformation of decay into new life. These paintings explore the relationship between entropy and new growth; they pull at the petal edges of our fascination with death and the tragic muse. The line between the inert and transformed is not always clear in Walitzki's new work, where translucent flesh turns to foliage, and flora becomes fauna. These lush and swirling paintings feature figures sprouting flowers, salamanders bursting into flame, and animals decaying into fresh blossoms. Intricately shaped frames likewise reclaim life from hardened immobility, as their baroque and curling laser cut forms seek purchase on the gallery walls.

The central theme in ‘Exquisite Corpse’ is drawn from a Greek myth, in which Chloris (the Goddess of Flowers) stumbles upon the lifeless body of a woodland nymph. Saddened by the innocent creature’s fate, Chloris breathes new life into her, transforming the nymph’s body into a flower. In recontextualizing this myth for modern day, Walitzki explores our culture's fascination with the macabre and beautiful. Death is stilled by the force of new growth and we continue our all too human romance with the power of dark and light.

Redd Walitzki draws her inspiration from the lush surroundings of her home in the Pacific Northwest, and the ornate Baroque ornamentation of her native Bavaria. The vivid muses in her paintings are influenced by the glamour of high-fashion, while often exploring the darker side of human impact on ecology. Her earliest memories are of painting at the kitchen table with her Grandfather, pulling flowers and foxes out of the bright splashes of pigment. This initial passion led her to pursue a career as an artist, and Redd completed her B.F.A. from Cornish College of the Arts with a concentration in Painting. Redd can be found in her studio painting to BBC Documentaries, playing with her pet opossum, or chasing down the next strange adventure on her scooter.