Artist Amanda Jahn on Color and DADA!

Amanda Jahn on contemporary painting and sculpture

Artist Amanda Jahn, born in Canada in 1986, is currently studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Austria. She has been living in Vienna since 2012 and primarily focuses on painting and sculpture.

Jahn's artwork is characterized by its vibrant colors and intricate narratives, which are intentionally thought-provoking.

By relying heavily on symbolic meaning, she creates a space for viewers to interpret her pieces, allowing them to delve into the undefined psychological and emotional space in which her work exists.

Jahn's artworks are intricate stories that can be taken off the wall and packed away. They are bright and heavy, existing in the realm of the unconscious.

While she struggles with her pieces, as they force her to confront difficult subjects, Jahn actively chooses her color palette.

By using colors like sunshine yellow, sky blue, fern green, and red, she taps into their representational ability, which she finds appealing.

Jahn's color choices serve as a way to "slap a new coat of paint" on decrepit structures and constitutions, dressing them up to make them more palatable.

Jahn's artwork does not shy away from difficult topics such as political and moral issues, climate change, refugees, war, and political extremism.

Her work is influenced by various sources, such as Yann Martel's Life of Pi, the Dada movement, and Hugo Ball's Gadji Beri Bimba. However, Jahn's primary focus remains on the soldier, who she finds to be an intriguing figure that embodies many of the complexities and contradictions that exist in the world.

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Images Credits: By the Artist

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