Olive Ayhens. Metabolic Metropolis

About

Ayhens’ work has often focused on the intersection between the man-made and natural world; blending bustling cityscapes with rich vistas to transform familiar locations into dreamlike compositions. Spanning the last twenty-eight years of the artist’s practice, the paintings in this exhibition provide a glimpse into Ayhens’ unique vision of various environments and her ability to emphasize the beauty in the world, in spite of and thanks to its’ flaws. 

It’s apparent Ayhens has a deep appreciation for the places she inhabits and it’s this appreciation that allows her to see beyond surface level recreations of her surroundings to capture the consistent push and pull between urban developments and the living world. In Metabolic Metropolis, the artist tackles what she describes as “the aesthetics of pollution.” Within the work, there’s a city that looks to be bound by the forces of nature that enclose it, with sprawling mountains and hills looming overhead and a discolored body of water filling the canvas below. There’s a clear effort to commentate on the effect we as humans have on the environment around us, a point that is only further accentuated by the lines of vehicles driving along the polluted ocean. Yet even when exploring the negative, Ayhens never neglects the good in humans’ relationship with nature. Indeed, the polluted water is not only home to a pair of angelic swans, but it is also painted in warm and vibrant colors that mimic that of an inviting sunset. 

The artist's intrigue with New York City is a consistent thread woven throughout all the watercolors in the exhibition. Whether it’s a meticulously detailed study of skyscrapers present in From Empire State or a fantastical interpretation of an evening view from her studio situated in Brooklyn Heights found in Expanse: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Ayhens’ keen ability to represent the seemingly ordinary as anything but predictable. She often experiments with post-cubist space, vanishing points, and line work; displaying a palpable confidence in manipulating reality to elicit the true feeling the city and the surrounding nature invokes for many.