Andrea Wedell
Andrea Wedell is the daughter and grand daughter of artists and architects. Growing up, she was surrounded by strong-willed artists and grew to hold beauty, balance, and a commitment to art as the guiding forces in her own life.
When her grandfather, Alexander Stoller, sold half of his land in the Berkshire mountains to cast one of his largest marble sculptures in bronze, it was acquired by the American Embassy in Paris. Andrea attended the opening ceremony, and shortly after, captivated by the magnitude of culture available in Europe, uprooted from her native California and moved to Paris. The France adventure spanned 27 years before she moved back to her much loved California in 2013.
Andrea has a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA, and while in Paris, she studied under acclaimed Beaux Art teachers Michele Massiou and Jacqueline Guillermain for over ten years.
She began exhibiting regularly at the Grand Marche d’Art Contemporain in Paris before becoming a permanent artist with Galerie BE Espace, also in Paris, for ten years. Her work has been published by Les Editions Arcadia in France. In California, her work has been exhibited in various galleries.
Inspired by movement, rhythm, color, and mood, her style is improvisational, moving through joyful chaos to studied balance. The subject matter that emerges through that back and forth processes are the pivotal moments that have shaped her life experience.
Artist Statement
As an abstract painter, I grab hold of the motif that presents itself most vividly and let it play out. Flowers with their ephemeral cycles and contradictions are an endless source of inspiration in my work. They surround me where I live in California. Their delicate life-affirming presence kept me company during the darkest days of the pandemic. A walk outside or a bouquet of freshly cut botanicals is how I start.
I work fast at first as I loosely extrapolate into abstraction what I see and feel viscerally. I start out bold with gestural, fluid brushstrokes then move into layers of detail as the composition starts to present itself. I let my eye direct my hand with a steady focus on light, shadow, rhythm, and line. I alternate between improvisation and tight observation as I strive to find the grace I both feel and see in my subject matter.
The sensuality of paint on canvas lends itself perfectly to these choreographed conversations. My love of color guides my choices, as I draw on a variety of painting techniques, including acrylic, charcoal, pastel, and oil applied with brushes, palate knives, or paint spread with just my hand.