A single conversation with mixed media artist Jylian Gustlin leaves one guffawed, marveling at just how many passions and interests a single person can have. When Gustlin is not wrapped up in creating beautiful textures and colors in the studio, she can be found diving into a multiplicity of seemingly contradictory passions and interests, nearly all of which find themselves introduced back into her artwork.

 

With an engineer’s mind and a strong interest in computer science and mathematics, Gustlin often turns to analytical subjects for her artistic inspiration. Before applying paintbrush to panel, she begins her work on the computer. Using mathematical concepts like the Fibonacci Sequence as a springboard, she glitches, changes, and manipulates digital comps in order to create her compositions for abstract paintings.

With an engineer’s mind and a strong interest in computer science and mathematics, Gustlin often turns to analytical subjects for her artistic inspiration.

In a brand-new series for this year, Gustlin utilizes the talents of those closest to her: her family. Both her sister and mother are expert quilters, and have shown her the craft as it weaves through their family. The new “Flora” series utilizes layers of quilted fabric and paint with acrylic medium to fuse the elements together. We love how Gustlin chooses the modest flowers, the wild ones, in these pieces: lilies, sunflowers, irises, and thistle. The results are feminine — and strong.

 

With her latest works now featured at Gallery MAR, many of her painting are inspired by the concept of entropy as used in statistical thermodynamics, or else the natural logarithm that determines the degree of disorder or randomness in a system. If that explanation seems convoluted or downright wrong, it’s most likely because I didn’t explain it well — but trust me when I say that an understanding of her works’ underlying concepts is not necessary to appreciate the beauty of her work.

 

 

Gustlin also displays more of wide-reaching range with her latest figurative work. Inspired by dancers like Prima Ballerina Misty Copeland, Gustlin explores the intriguing motion of bodies through highly textured figurative work. Her fascination with the human body is amplified by her own personal exploration of its capabilities. Gustlin dances, rock climbs, hikes, runs long distance, and lives in accordance to the ideology that “the body is the truth.”

 

Gustlin dances, rock climbs, hikes, runs long distance, and lives in accordance to the ideology that “the body is the truth.”

Jylian Gustlin’s artwork embodies her many passions and demonstrates for us how a well-rounded life leads to a boundless pool of creative inspiration. We hope you’ll join us in appreciating the elegant results of these combined interests in her latest paintings.

Tags: bay area painter, contemporary art, entropy, fabric art, Fibonacci, Flora, Jylian Gustlin, Mixed Media, quilting
Posted in Gallery News