As humans we fearfully attempt to hold on to existence and prolong the inevitable, yet we only discover our path in life once we leave our comfort zone and embrace our lack of control. Painting enables me to accept this truth. I began my sewn paper indigo series four years ago as an outlet to process my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s disease. The once loquacious woman fell silent and would only come to life through song. She consistently sang “Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder” and I felt as if it was my calling to find that blue yonder. I never thought of the indigo pieces as specific landscapes, yet people repeatedly referred to them as glaciers. I have never seen a glacier in person, but I have consistent visions of them in deep meditation. In the wake of our climate crisis, and to further analyze my subconscious, I feel an unwavering drive to learn more about glaciers. When the icy structures melt, they buckle, heave and cry. Their cries remind me of places I have visited in my own despair, and their departure reflects the underlying theme of transience seen throughout my work. My black and white drawings use multiple images of glaciers combined in Photoshop and then translated on paper. Through this process, I dissect their structure and create places that look as though they could exist, but do not. By combining images, I have the power to distort and skew the perspective on things that once were. As glaciers die out, they may become similar to a vague memory or a dream to future generations, where the concept is known yet not fully realized or understood. I create these imagined places to elicit a feeling of grasping at a fleeting memory and ultimately question our constructed “realities”. --- Nicole Kutz is an artist and curator based in Los Angeles, CA. She received her MFA in 2017 from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a concentration in painting. Her work has been shown in galleries, corporate institutions and private collections throughout the world including: Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, London, Vail and more. Exhibitions include: Wönzimer Gallery (Los Angeles – upcoming), Mason Fine Art (Atlanta), Gallery 43 (Roswell, GA), bG Gallery (Santa Monica), BnJ Gallery (Atlanta), Cherry Lion Studios (Atlanta), Ambient Studios (Atlanta), Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. She has an upcoming residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland with Nes Artist Residency (rescheduled – 2022).