Ilana Manolson
Artist Statement
I am a painter, printmaker, and naturalist weaving together environmental systems of earth, water, and life. I move between the edge of representation and abstraction, capturing the essence of landscape in a mark. The paintings refer to both the seen and imagined; swaths of pure fluid color appear wave- like, close up, and then fall into perspective at a distance. I paint and edit simultaneously. This process mirrors the natural world. Just as rivers flow into lakes and fires ravage forests, my work operates in both the additive and subtractive. I stack layers of paint and scrape into pools of color. In doing so, I document the growth and loss within a landscape.
My practice is oriented to place and responsive to my environment. Growing up in the glacial mountains of Quebec I was intimate with the lakes, stones, and rivers. The boundaries blurred between human and nature; I knew every rock by name. Every painting is a story formed by a compilation of miles walked through the past and into the present. My paintings encompass something developing and something dying. This narrative is constant in nature and in my work. When I paint, I squint my eyes, looking for the minute that stands in for the monumental.
llana Manolson’s work has long been celebrated for its intricate layering and semi-abstract interpretations of natural elements. Her background as a naturalist and her deep engagement with ecological themes manifests in paintings that are as much about nature’s cycles as they are about human connection to place. Manolson's brushwork achieves a rhythmic cadence, capturing the ebb and flow of life with a curator’s eye for both detail and abstraction. Her work speaks to an awareness of nature’s temporality, portraying the dynamism of growth and erosion. Critics have noted her ability to evoke a landscape’s spirit through gestural forms and nuanced tonal palettes, creating spaces that feel lived in and deeply personal.
