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Christina Balch
christina.balch@gmail.com
www.christinabalch.com
“As an artist I am always looking for inspiration. Most of the time I find it in the faces of strangers; in their subtle expressions of suffering, gratitude, content, discontent and sorrow, etc. Recently I began to notice different ‘expressions’ and ‘characteristics’ in trees which inspired me to re-create images that reflect this singular perspective. The images in my series Naked Trees are inspired by scenes that have captured my mind during my many walks through favorite places such as the neighborhood park and the back country of Yosemite National Park. It features knotted, writhing, fruitless trees. The naked tree personifies human struggle – its branches reaching out and twisting around itself. Naked trees can be both beautiful and grotesque. My work has always been figurative expressions of human form and emotions. Trees branches can resemble outstretched arms, roots grounded in the earth signify a history or past out of which we continuously grow and yet to which we remain eternally connected. The series is inspired by the realism of Casper David Friedrich and modern multi-media artist Tim Burton. In Japanese flower arranging – ikebana – Buddhist artists often use naked branches or dead flowers to signify death. They are reminders that death is a natural part of the life cycle. The dead bare trees in my paintings provide a similar reminder that death is inescapable and suffering inevitable.”
From 2007 until the summer of 2009 I participated in a Peace Corps program in Lesotho, Southern Africa working with the Basotho people as HIV/AIDS Advisor. Lesotho is a small country called the “Mountain Kingdom” because of its mountainous terrain and high elevation. I hope to return one day to visit all the wonderful people I met during that time.
Currently I reside in beautiful Culver City, the only place I’d want to live in Los Angeles. You can’t beat living so close to Downtown Culver City and the newest hot spot in the art world – the Culver City Arts District. I work out of my studio in my garage where I can listen to my favorite tunes while I paint.
In addition to my art I do freelance web design, graphic design and illustration.
EDUCATION
2005 B.A. Studio Arts (minors in Art History & Animation)
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2006 - "Portraits," Abbot's Habit, Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 - "Harvest Exhibit", The Happening Gallery, Marina del Rey, CA
2010 - "Luster," RAW Artist Showcase, Elevate Lounge, Los Angeles, CA.
2007 “15th Annual Evening of Art,” benefiting The Heart Project, Los Angeles, CA.
2007 “GET:ART,” Bonhams & Butterfields, Los Angeles, CA.
2006 “Blue Night, Red Night,” Abbott’s Habit, Los Angeles, CA.
2006 “Friends of the Alternative,” Abbott’s Habit, Los Angeles, CA.
2005 “MERGE Art Show: A Multi-Media Exhibit on Multi-Culturalism,” Ahmanson North,
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA.
2005 “ending ..on…” Von der Ahe Library, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA.
2004 “20th Annual Juried Art Exhibition,” Laband Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
2003 “The Color of God: Installation with Kim Abeles,” Religious Education Congress,
Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA.
2003 “The Color of God: Paintings Inspired by the 2003 Bellarmine Forum,” University Hall
Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA.
COLLLECTIONS
Center for Service and Action, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Esther Schroeder, Fullerton, CA **** Carolyn Johnson, Boulder, CO
John Kenneth Lange, Los Angeles, CA **** Mike Bohley, Venice, CA
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* None of the artworks may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of the Artist