Andrew S. Conklin

Region: Midwest

Website: http://cargocollective.com/andrewsconklin

City / State: Chicago, IL

I have been drawing the human figure since before I can remember. My earliest attempts, done at age two, possessed an economy, if not accuracy, of form that showed no hint of my adolescent struggles with drawing and painting the nude model in art school.

My work since has focused on the human figure. In my paintings, I highlight those differences between the real and the ideal, influenced by binary notions of Platonic ideals of form and the realities of the visual world. This can extend to idealistic notions of beauty and justice, which ultimately run up against the more complex life experiences of these concepts. Out of this tension (which is irresolvable), I have tried to produce paintings that in a small way bridge the perceived divided and satisfy a need for their synthesis.

Among my aims to continue the traditions of representation in painting, which included narrative content. In a time of increasing ephemera, the resilience of figurative painting, while perhaps against the spirit of the age, remains a valuable approach to understanding and appreciating contemporary life.