Artist
I engage with the themes of memory and metamorphosis, emphasizing resilience and adaptation. My previous work examined the realities of chronic grief and a life in dissolution. Now, instead of fixating on the shadows of dissolution, I capture the evolution that emerges from such disruption, providing a nuanced view of navigating life after loss.
Shelli Langdale is an American artist living and painting in Chattanooga, TN. She has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. An autodidact, Shelli has pivoted careers throughout her life, from a wide-area network engineer for NASA to front-end web development and design. After experiencing a personal loss in 2014, she revisited her first passion, art, and studied at the local atelier where she began creating emotive narrative works. A second personal loss in 2020 inspired her to shift her focus toward exploring the ephemeralness of relationships. Shelli's first physical solo show, "Dissolution", was an exhibit about grief. Its proceeding became a coping method and her practice in constructing meaning from loss — and was the culmination of this new body of work.
Shelli's paintings are collected nationally and published in Create! Magazine, American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, and PoetsArtists. She has exhibited in Colorado, Florida, New York, and Tennessee.
Bachelor of Science, Computer Science. The University of Alabama in Huntsville
In my latest work, I've focused on the dynamic between memory and transformation, emphasizing resilience and adaptation. Moving beyond the shadows of dissolution, I've captured the quiet evolution that arises from disruption, providing a thoughtful perspective on navigating life after loss.
I've explored this journey by depicting astronauts in loosely painted oil and acrylic scenes on paper. Drawing inspiration from my love for science fiction, astrophysics, and the cosmos, I've imagined these figures as explorers, each navigating their own course toward self-definition. The hidden faces behind the dark visors of their helmets reflect my own uncertainty in the aftermath of profound loss.
Through these paintings, I'm examining the concept of exploration as a metaphor for self-discovery and the quest for joy. The environments and circumstances in which these astronauts find themselves highlight the unpredictability of life's path and the resilience required to adapt to new realities. By depicting them in a variety of settings, I aim to capture the multifaceted nature of this journey, whether it be the vastness of space or the intimacy of personal experiences.
Ultimately, my work seeks to invite viewers into a narrative of self-discovery and introspection, encouraging them to reflect on their own journeys and the ways they navigate change and loss. The use of abstraction and ambiguity allows for a range of interpretations, while the recurring theme of hidden visors underscores the universality of the search for identity and direction.
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