Angela Gram (US) "Three Birds" 2025, oil on panel, 41 x 41 cm

ANGELA GRAM
Born 1985, Boston, Massachusetts
Lives and works in Jersey City, NJ

“In a technological age of impersonal and disconnected relationships between individuals there persists a sensibility in contemporary art that stresses the interdependence of living beings (both human and non-human) through the visual use of anthropomorphism, allegory, and surrealist interpretations of the natural world. While the complex physical reality of nature presents itself as mostly a myth in modern life, contemporary artists depicting nature defiantly elevate this topic to one of vital cultural importance. It is one of the most primordial dialogues in human history, where visual depictions of the natural world and animals within it are symbolically intertwined with humanity and seen in ways that define and redefine our values and identities throughout time.

My paintings collectively examine the current state of this relationship where the realm of the mind distorts, allegorizes, and projects onto the subject of animals in various ways. I embrace a larger environmental dialogue where inspiration is drawn from current events that display an irreconcilable tension between technology and the natural world. The animals of these paintings will also convey a deep uncanniness where their rich symbolism throughout art history collides with contemporary cultural discourses in a world where animal forms narrate human behavior. Rubens and Stubbs are major influences, and the aforementioned concept will be further explored in a new series of works. I believe inherent in the animal image is cultural symbolism and psychological depth potentially so powerful that it holds a complexity incomparable to representational figurative painting.”

Artist Statement, New York 2024