Feedback Loop
March 2, 2024 - April 10, 2024
Artwork by Nicole Dalager & Danae Lenda
by Danae Lenda
Acrylic on Canvas
22″ x 28″
by Nicole Dalager
Acrylic on Canvas
27.5” x 39.5”
San Francisco, CA— Prepare for a hueful storm of self-awarenes, too many options, and the ability to heal yourself. Feedback Loop showcases two emerging Bay Area artists who articulate worlds of self-healing and searching. Selected amongst a large pool of applicants, Nicole Dalager and Danae Lenda spent three months in their Midway studios with The Midway Artist Studio Residency, working on new bodies of work opening to the public March 2, 2024.
Danae Lenda debuts her work at The Midway with a series of portraits. The young artist paints deliberately from “not perfect or completely flattering” photos she takes of people she is close to. Painting with acrylic, Danae incorporates symbolism and dimensional play, such as the robin moving from plane to plane in John. Lenda says, “I draw from trends I see online, riffing off pinterest-inspired mood boards, trendy aesthetics, and today’s ‘selfie culture.’ I am curious about the way we use the internet and the globalization of culture to find ourselves and present ourselves to the world.” Lenda has created seven new portraits for Feedback Loop and led a workshop teaching guests how to compose self-portraits through assemblage.
Nicole Dalager’s artwork creates a world from healing and a place to meet her non-tangible self. In this exhibition, her body of work utilizes surrealism and animation to explore themes on mental health, existentialism, and the human experience. Nicole’s work tackles massive concepts like the Theory of Everything and imperanence using her skills in illustration and design.
Dalager says, “Over the last few years, the impermanence of existence has been a heavy weight on my mind having watched loved ones slowly lose their battles with dementia. I spent so long in denial, ruminating on the meaning of consciousness, and anxiously grasping at lacking coping mechanisms, until I read “I am a Strange Loop” by Douglas Hofstadter and found beauty in his speculations of the infiniteness of ourselves.” Nicole led a Color Theory workshop at The Midway, arming guests with skills to also heal and express through exploration of hues.
Viewers are encouraged to soften their critical side and traverse the loop of scintillating worlds and soft-lined, unfiltered portraits in Feedback Loop.
–Norah Crean
Feedback Loop opens Saturday, March 2nd at The Midway Gallery
Reception free to the public, Saturday, March 2nd, 6-8pm at The Midway Gallery
Feedback Loop on view at The Midway Gallery, March 2nd- April 12, 2024
Follow Nicole Dalager @nic.pnggg
Follow Danae Lenda @danaethepainter
Follow The Midway Gallery on Instagram @themidwaygallery
Learn more about The Midway Artist Studio Residency
For inquiries email [email protected]