A
bit of candy, bouquet of flowers, a dash of perfume. Sounds like the
ingredients for romance doesn’t it? Or better yet, the ingredients for the art
of Clara Hallencreutz.
I
glimpsed some of her pieces that reference Chanel and quickly got drawn into
her world of color, whimsy and surrealism. Her modern pop art inspires
questions and exploration through her presentation and title selection.
For
instance, by painting a fast food meal in soft pastels and using the title “No
Artificial Colours,” Hallencreutz
makes the viewer question the ingredients of our food. As a society, we have
become accustomed to eating out of boxes and drive-thrus, but
do we really ever know what we’re eating? With appealing packaging and
convenience, we often fail to stop and consider the artificial components of
what we put in our bodies.
The
series also includes painted roses. With roses as a symbol of love, it makes
you wonder, is love sometimes artificial with a layer covering the true form that lies beneath it?
Hallencreutz
seems to have a thing for Chanel, but who doesn’t? Her “Smell Deluxe” series is
a pretty presentation of flowers in the shape of the iconic logo…perhaps the
flowers that inspire the perfumes?
Her Chanel inspiration continues with the “Taste Deluxe” series, which uses the branded black and white pairing with ice cream and cupcakes. The
juxtaposition of sweets and the luxury of the Chanel brand hints at the taste
of luxury, suggesting a new Chanel bag is as sweet as an ice cream cone.
The
“Candy Crush” collection continues the use of sweet imagery, but in shapes like
that of a grenade. Perhaps an ode to the explosive nature of having a new
crush?
Regardless
of how you interpret her work, you can’t help but get lost in the colorfully
sweet world Hallencreutz
creates.
