June 5 – July 5, 2025
Everything is cool brought a forceful new presence and energy to abstracted landscape painting, in Kristian Battell’s inaugural exhibition at VillageOneArt.
Kristian Battell: Everything is cool introduced visitors to new works by artist Kristian Battell in her first solo presentation, which opened June 5th at VillageOneArt. Battell’s careful attention to the undulations and interrogations of land formations against sky mirrored her meticulous use of paint against canvas, alternately flattening and contrasting medium against substrate. Creating dreamscapes nestled quietly against the viewer’s expectations of the natural world, the work amazed by transmuting the familiar into the surreal. In works such as The Lichen Pikes, Battell borrowed from the formal lexicon of mold spores, moss and tree rings to rapturous effect. Stark contrasts in line and color unfolded against each other against a cool gradient expanse of sky. Recent paintings and sculptures by the artist revealed a complex consideration of the oft-overlooked range of living organisms beneath our feet as well as those populating the forests we breathe and explore. At times referencing the Pop-influenced color schemes and simplified yet direct imagery of renowned contemporary painters such as David Hockney and Etel Adnan, Battell planted her feet firmly in imaginary realms where she presented objects that once seemed recognizable as foreign and even slightly absurd.
Creating impactful artworks influenced by her Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York, NY, Kristian applied a careful and thorough approach to her composition-building. Her ability to simplify convoluted landscapes embracing elements such as mountains and forest imagery was impacted by her skill with printmaking, cemented during her BFA from SUNY Purchase in printmaking and the art of the book.
Works in the Exhibition
Everything is cool was on view at VillageOneArt, 150 West 25th Street, Suite 403, New York, from June 5 to July 5, 2025. For inquiries regarding available works by Kristian Battell, please contact info@villageoneart.com.