Natalie Beall (b. 1981) abstracts and improvises on the forms of functional and domestic objects to create new forms that are recognizable without being identifiable. Born in Atlanta, Georgia she now lives and works in the hamlet of Salt Point, NY in the Hudson Valley. She received her MFA from Columbia University in 2009 and her BFA from the University of Georgia in 2004. In 2017 she was awarded a NYFA/NYSCA Fellowship in Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts. Her work has been shown at the Wassaic Project, The Lower East Side Printshop, The Cooper Union, Chashama and Scaramouche Gallery. She has been an artist in residence at The Lower East Side Printshop, The Lighthouse Works, The Cooper Union, and Catwalk Institute.
Artist Statement:
We come into contact with objects in our homes every day, but what are the lives of these items beyond their obvious functions? A lifelong fascination with the underlying energy of inanimate objects drives my work.
I create paper collages and mixed media wall sculptures of invented objects that hover between functionality and fantasy. Spare, symmetrical, and incorporating attributes of usefulness such as grids, hooks and holes, these forms contribute to a world of unnameable objects that move beyond function into a realm of wonder. These forms’ flattened, pared down states allude to their suspension between the everyday and the imagination.
I seek inspiration in open-ended learning toys, ambiguous storage devices, and obsolete domestic implements. By using source imagery associated with the domestic domain, I embrace a lineage of traditionally undervalued pursuits that hold dormant potential.