Arden Daine (b. 1989)

I am equally fascinated by the creation of empty space in my artwork as I am with that which fills it. The moment there is too much filling a composition is devastating and mysterious in its clarity. Several decades of dance training is applied to how I create formations and movement with shapes pulling from various inspirations be it natural elements, body lines, to purely emotive abstraction. These shapes are often accompanied by nearly, illegible text and photos I have taken with my 35mm camera. With controlled immediacy I enjoy molding and untangling my own preconceived notions of collage which evoke memories of peeking at journals, seeing that which I should not. Within all forms of art I find collage endlessly interesting because it creates intimacy through distance, by leaving aspects apart, a feeling of being unfinished, there is tension filled desire for the bringing together of disparate, intimate things which enables multiple options of interpretation. And, within this interpretation a unique sense of ownership for the viewer. I hope to create a duality of distance and closeness in my work through empty space, choice of color combinations, and a sense of escaping into rolling hills and pools within enlarged, abstracted shapes.

When not painting I am teaching dance, yoga and Pilates. I received a dance degree from the World Arts and Culture/Dance Department at University of California, Los Angeles as well as a degree in English Literature from the Department of English. I am originally from San Diego and now live in Seattle.