Flame

Anya Spielman is an American abstract painter. Her work explores the constellation of binary forces and forms, presenting reoccurring two-fold images: the tension between knowing and not knowing, being seen and unseen, humanity and inhumanity. She lives and works in the Los Angeles area.

Education

Anya Spielman studied at the University of California, Davis, where she earned a B.A in 1989 with a major in Art Studio and a minor in Anthropology. She was a student of Wayne Thiebaud, and after graduating, she continued to be mentored by him.

Technique

Spielman uses oil paint on canvas, paper and panel in various sizes; she works on up to forty paintings at a time, moving between them as each begins to form, then isolating a work to bring to completion. Her saturated surfaces are luminous, with alternate glossy and matte layers, but also bear rough nail marks that scar and deconstruct the work. These etched lines and marks relate to an image and idea, and are often the underlying structure, the submerged language of a work.
Her use of reds and pinks link to flesh and blood, and the pale creams, yellows and blues in her palette often recall bodily fluids, and the pulse of life.

Inspiration

A curiosity for what lies beneath surfaces initially drove Spielman to draw from cadavers, and in conceptualizing the underlying strata of a form it became clear that the dissection process is linked to the painting process. A painter's painter, she is captivated by the physicality of the act of painting, the intensity of saturated color and human motivation.

Collections

Spielman's works are present in numerous private and public collections, mostly based in the US but also internationally, including the permanent collection of the US Department of State, which acquired a 54"x124" oil on paper, "Weightless", as part of their Art In Embassies Program (AIE). This work is displayed in the U.S. Embassy of Monterrey, Mexico.

Exhibitions

Spielman has exhibited extensively in the US in solo and group exhibitions. She as well showcased internationally in group exhibitions in Canada, Uruguay and Argentina.
Her work has been also featured in various art fairs including Select Fair NYC, Aqua Art Miami, Art Fair 21 Cologne, and Bridge Art Fair in London.

Spielman's paintings have also appeared on the hit reality TV shows "The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "The Bachelorette," and in several motion pictures.