We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lindsay McCulloch a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lindsay thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The pandemic was really stressful for me and my family. We went through some challenging times, as I know many people did. In the midst of that, I was also teaching at a college and encountering students and community members who were really struggling. I was thinking a lot about the purpose of art and how it could serve as a pathway through difficult times. In the fall of 2021, I was fortunate to have been invited to show my work at Shockoe Artspace in Richmond, Virginia. I went to visit, and was bowled over by the beauty and history of the architecture and the sheer volume of the exhibition space. I really wanted to take advantage of the large main room and make something that felt big and important for the show. I also wanted to address the role of art, which for me is so much about navigating the world in a thoughtful way and finding a pathway through difficult experiences. I thought back to a day during the pandemic when I was watching my girls play outside. I looked up and saw a double rainbow above them in the sky. It felt important, to experience that moment of extreme joy and peace during a time with so much sadness and uncertainty. I decided I wanted to recreate that moment for the gallery wall. I made an installation with large brushstrokes reflecting fluorescent colors on the wall in arching gestures, and called it Double Rainbow. It felt like a celebration of beauty and resilience, and opened up a new way of working for me by using the wall as my canvas.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a visual artist working primarily in painting, printmaking and three-dimensional collage. I was exposed to art at a young age since my mom is an artist and art teacher and my dad is a hobbyist maker. I always had access to a wide range of quality art supplies, and felt most comfortable expressing myself visually. When I went to college, I didn’t immediately declare an art major because I was unsure of how to make a living in the art world. However, it pretty quickly became clear that art was the path for me.

I now have a very devoted studio practice. In addition, I am a professor at a local college. I have come to understand just how important community is for artists and creators. I love that I can participate actively in that community and help inform the paths of up-and-coming artists.

I am currently working on a series of three-dimensional paintings and works on paper that are a direct reaction to the pandemic and everything that has been happening in the world over the past few years. Things have felt very heavy, and I am to trying process moments and observations with some levity and perhaps even humor. The pieces utilize bright colors and overt formal painting references in quirky configurations that deliberately call into question the illusionism of the two-dimensional picture plane. I invite the viewer to move around the pieces and explore how changes in perspective alter what is seen and understood about the work.

Formally, I am interested in the history of painting with a particular focus on abstraction. I enjoy exploring the boundaries between reality and illusion; high art and craft; and 2d and 3d space. I tend to sample freely from different painting languages and have a particular fondness for grids and patterns, gesture, painterly mark-making, and the reflective quality of color.

Many of the paintings are rooted in specific ideas or events. Yet I also hope the abstract nature of the pieces allows the viewer freedom to discover a personal connection, much like shifting cloud formations call to mind narratives specific to the observer.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I once had a curator tell me to not talk about my family or my children. I was pregnant at the time, and it was unsolicited advice. He said people wouldn’t take me seriously as an artist if I mentioned them. I had also received career advice from a female mentor along those same lines. They were telling me to deny my reality and my lived experience to make others feel comfortable and to fit in some box that others needed to put me in. The implication is also that a woman who is a partner or a mother can’t be serious about her art. Nothing could be further from the truth! I am incredibly serious and regimented about my artistic practice. My work is also personal and very much rooted in my experience as a woman and a mother. For years I tried to hide that reality from others in my art, and the work felt muffled. I realized that authenticity fuels my creativity, and that I very much needed to be able to talk freely about my experiences in my work. It was an incredibly liberating feeling to let that go, and I’ve now embraced that I need to be painfully honest when I’m creating because that’s where the real art lies.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, art forms a direct path to feeling, understanding and empathy. It can bypass distinctions and otherness, and connects viscerally with others when it is really good. I love that pre-verbal potential for connection. I also love the challenge of being in my studio and working hard to find a moment when everything clicks into place and makes sense. Working as an artist forces me to process my life and the world around me in a very complete way, and helps me to navigate a path through the more challenging times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lindsaymcculloch.com
• Instagram: @lindsaymccullochart
• Facebook: Lindsay McCulloch Art

Image Credits
Lindsay McCulloch