WorkArt & Culture

Pixels Meet Paint: Two worlds collide in Vickie Vainionpaa's intriguing art

An emerging artist living and working in Quebec, Canada, Vickie Vainionpaa's work has been exhibited at shows including Fresh Paint/New Construction at Art Mûr (Montréal) and YES! at UWAG (Waterloo). She's also won a number of awards and was recently a resident at The Banff Centre in Alberta.

Written By:
Two panels of Vickie Vainionpaa's Soft Body Dynamics paintings featuring flowing, colourful 3D forms in blues, pinks, greens and yellows, mounted on concrete blocks

"My work explores the new perceptual paradigm of the digital and what it means to be a painter in today’s technocentric world," explains the 25-year-old artist. "I use 3D modelling software to produce forms, colours and compositions which are then rendered by hand using oil on canvas. The works aim to facilitate a dialogue between traditional painterly tropes and new digital means of reading space and content."

Her latest new series of paintings, Soft Body Dynamics, shows how this plays out in practice. Shapes that might appear cold and clinical had they remained as mere pixels become far more real and engaging once translated into physical form, and the resulting dichotomy plays out as a fascinating feast for the eyes.

Soft, undulating 3D forms in pastel shades of blue, green, pink and cream blend together with subtle gradients and shadows
Abstract composition featuring curved blue and lavender forms with bold black striped patterns and coral geometric shapes in Vickie Vainionpaa's Soft Body Dynamics series
Abstract painting combining flowing striped forms in black and white with soft pastel-coloured organic shapes in blue, pink, orange and cream
Abstract composition with undulating black wavy lines flowing between organic pink and coral rounded shapes on a cream background, oil on canvas by Vickie Vainionpaa
Abstract composition of soft, overlapping 3D forms in yellow, purple, blue and red on a cream background, painted on canvas by Vickie Vainionpaa
Abstract oil painting with interlocking blue and green curved forms against a cream and yellow gradient background, displayed on concrete blocks
Share

Further Reading