Oct 1

Megan Aline

Megan Aline is a contemporary painter who has exhibited across the United States and especially in South Carolina. She is represented by Robert Lange Studios and her most recent exhibitions include galleries such as Lemieux Gallery in New Orleans, City Gallery in Charleston, Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, and the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga. Megan’s works remain in the collections of Kevin Costner, Washington Group International, and Norfolk Southern. Her recent publications include features in books such as More Disruption and The New Art History as well as repeated articles in American Art Collector magazine.

Although these artworks may appear to be cut out photographs, they are in fact photorealistic acrylic paintings painted within a stencil shaped in the form of female bodies and portraits. Megan uses models for the basis of her vinyl stencils which she lays over panel and paints intricate landscapes within the interior shape. Megan’s paintings are poetic gestures connecting womanhood with tranquil relationships within nature referenced by her upbringing in rural New England, where she often spent her childhood exploring the woods.

With a heightened sense of sophistication and refinement, the paintings convey a puristic interpretation of nature without fluff or excess. The landscapes are not idealized or particularly colorful, usually portraying representational portrayals one would see at their local state park or even their own backyard in rural areas. Most of the landscapes appear similar to typical landscape scenery one would find in New England states such as Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, particularly during the fall season. The various women containing these intricate sceneries stand in confident posture conveying a sense of strength often with their heads lifted, standing in either an upright position or contrapposto. With almost empty backgrounds, the paintings convey a sense of central focus using monochromatic negative space and central positioning of the figures.

Undercurrent (pictured above) remains a clever painting in which the landscape becomes positioned in a way to directly interact with the figure. In such a case, the fallen red leaves from the trees appear in the shape of a skirt for the silhouetted figure. The various precise and thin branches from the trees almost appear like veins spread throughout her body, as if we could see her blood pumping life throughout her form. The background contains subtle touches of colors from the interior landscape such as red from the foliage and bluish gray from the sky, smeared in a blur against a backdrop of a pastel cream tone.

Megan Aline creates refined paintings which communicate a sense of appreciation and inner connection with nature. She portrays women as givers and makers of life through their integration with the natural world, much like ancient Celtic druids. The women in the paintings stand ready and brace themselves for the viewers gaze with confidence and a sense of dignity. Megan explores womanhood and contemporary interpretations of nature by selectively outlying just portions of nature contained within our inner spirit. She relives her childhood in rural Maine with every painting, creating a personal connection to her past, sharing the tranquil experience for an eager and curious audience.