Patrick Lundeen: Noise Farm
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Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art 103-421 Cawston Ave, Rotary Centre for the Arts, Kelowna, British Columbia V1Y 6Z1
Photographer: Yuri Akuney
Patrick Lundeen, "Spoon Bass," 2017
mixed media
Patrick Lundeen’s images are generated primarily by his subconscious through a combination of improvisation and revision. This process involves a combination of freely associating with meanings already existent within the found materials that he manipulates and the generation of new forms that are based on his reaction to these free associations. Lundeen considers his recent artworks to be abstractions that are based on recognizable motifs and signifiers.
The figurative and conceptual elements in each work can be compared to the melody or “head” in jazz music; they are jumping-off points that tie the composition together. Yet, like in jazz, it is the improvisational parts that give the work its emotional qualities and make it a viable work of art. After the work has been completed, Lundeen probes it for meanings and extrapolate on these in further works. All of his artworks are a product of his imagination and are often inexplicable, even to himself.
Some recurring themes that permeate his artworks include: the body, consumption/decay/garbage, aging, masks, Dadaism, Surrealism, craft, spirituality, music, outsider/folk art, primitivism, material culture and socioeconomic class dynamics. Primarily he finds influence for his artwork in the everyday and is equally inspired by what he sees in thrift stores and flea markets as by what is found in contemporary art galleries. Some well-known visual artists that have influenced his work are: Cindy Sherman, Mike Kelley, Rachel Harrison, Philip Guston and Franz West.
Patrick Lundeen would like to thank UBC Okanagan, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, Bree Apperley and Philip Wyness.