Fine Art
ANDREA GELLER
Painter & Mixed Media Artist
Andrea describes her style, her themes and series, and artists who have inspired her work.
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How would you describe your style? What about your use of blue as a dominant color?
My style is related to expressionism as I am interested in using the figure in the environment to communicate an emotional experience. Blue started to dominate in my work as I studied water as a subject. Seeing the oceans’ colors in different parts of the world, as well as peering down into the deep crevasse of glaciers, inspired me to capture the great variety of blues.
Water is a theme/inspiration throughout your work. Please explain. Water was a presence in my family’s recreational activities when I was child because we frequently traveled to oceans, lakes and pools. When I became a parent, I spent a lot of time with my children at our municipal pool as well as other bodies of water. My interest in the body’s movement in water turned into a study of a body in a more intimate, confined space, the bath. Painting of pools followed. I am now interested in social environments in open communal spaces. |
Water Series II
Oil on Canvas ~ 40 x 52 inches © Andrea Geller |
In your "Bath" series, the figures are immersing themselves into the water. Is this a cleansing outside of the obvious?
The Bath series comes from my personal experience. Bathing at night is relaxing and a transition from living in the externally focused and hectic daytime to the internal dream-life of sleep.
The Bath series portrays the ritual of preparing, bathing and emerging. Through the sequence, a figure experiences renewal through the sound, light, color and movement of water. There are twenty-eight 12 x 12 inch oil paintings on cradled board.
The Bath series comes from my personal experience. Bathing at night is relaxing and a transition from living in the externally focused and hectic daytime to the internal dream-life of sleep.
The Bath series portrays the ritual of preparing, bathing and emerging. Through the sequence, a figure experiences renewal through the sound, light, color and movement of water. There are twenty-eight 12 x 12 inch oil paintings on cradled board.
Bath XIV
Oil on Wood ~ 12 x 12 inches © Andrea Geller |
Bath XXIII
Oil on Wood ~ 12 x 12 © Andrea Geller |
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Tell me a bit about your "Travelers" series.
The Travelers series is about people’s movement through time and space. Maps hold knowledge, history, memories, and visuals in their lines. They can document immigration, when people bring place, names, language and customs to their new homes, represented as labels on maps. 'Walking the Coastline' depicts early humans in New South Wales, while the Eastern European map series references my own ancestors’ shtetl life. A solo exhibition of these paintings was exhibited with Emerge Gallery on Artsy from March through September 2022. Please name one or two artists who have inspired your work. Nathan Oliviera and Alberto Giacometti are two artists who have inspired my work. I studied Oliviera’s color and form and Giacometti’s understanding of the essence of the human form as well as the space between figures as they move. |
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Splash
Oil on Canvas ~ 32 x 32 inches © Andrea Geller |
Swimming
Oil on Canvas ~ 32 x 32 inches © Andrea Geller |
Where do you find sanctuary?
I find sanctuary in the bath.
I find sanctuary in the bath.
Andrea Posing with her Piece: Ala Moana Pool
Oil on Canvas ~ 32 x 32 inches © Andrea Geller |
Andrea Geller lives and works in Bergen County, New Jersey. She developed an interest in painting at a very young age and decided to pursue a career in art, studying painting at Cornell University and Parsons School of Design.
Early in her career she worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, with such prestigious clients as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Psychology Today and Random House. Andrea completed her M.F.A. in painting from William Paterson University and has been teaching on the college level since 1997. Inspired by expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement, she is interested in the universality of humans in their environments. In her paintings, she explores gestural figures in motion, on land and in water, and proxemics, the space between people as they move. Recent work has focused on Water, the Bath, and Pools. She loves to travel and incorporates her experiences into her work. Trips to Alaska, Iceland and the Canadian Rockies inspired the “Glacier” series. Andrea is represented by Emerge Gallery in Saugerties, New York and, most recently, was included in the “Personal Geographies” exhibition at New York Artists Equity on Broome Street, New York City. |
Floating
Oil on Canvas ~ 16 x 20 inches © Andrea Geller UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS:
October 28 – November 25, 2022 "On the Surface" Studio Montclair Montclair, NJ November 26 – January 8, 2023 ‘Best in Show’ Emerge Gallery Saugerties, NY |
