Featured Artist Tina Birch Chimenti

Artist Tina Birch Chimenti shares a collection of fascinating and complex narrative paintings. Enjoy her portfolio and visit her website to view more of her work.

 

 

I paint to tell stories. I grew up in a small town 30 kilometers south of Copenhagen. As a teenager, my father would take me to live drawing classes, where I soon discovered my natural talent for drawing, form, and expression. Later, at the age of 19, right after my high school exam, we moved to Copenhagen. I began to study classical drawing five days a week, surrounded with other art students. I thrived, but, at the time, I did not feel ready to apply to the Royal Academy of Art.

 

 

Instead, I began to study art history. I think this determined my future work in terms of my own demands for quality and traditional imagery. With time, the theoretical approach was not enough for me. In 1997, I finally decided to pursue my artistic talents and move to Florence, the heart of the Renaissance. I immediately began to study the drawing technique of the Florentine masters the year after I entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.

 

 

I’m naturally attracted to nature (trees in particular) and people. I have a need to be both physically and mentally in touch with what I create. I’m particularly fascinated by the physiognomy of the face as well as the flow of the body and its expression. I don’t think I could thrive as an artist without having access to draw this. The intimacy, feeling and connection with the people I draw is crucial for further work. If there is no energy, there is no need to continue the work.

 

 

Living in Italy for over two decades now has had its impact in many ways but mostly on my choice of subject matter, which divides into two. One part is inspired by social, religious, and political issues, which is why I often use minorities as subjects in my art.

 

 

The other part deals with womanhood (also a social issue) and sexuality. The moral values so very rooted in this society and the demands and expectations of being a woman, mother and wife, have influenced my work on a large scale. Not to mention the absurd juxtaposition of the Madonna and the whore, the woman torn between idolization and sin. I largely express this topic in my drawings, but also provocatively address it in my paintings.

 

 

The art of the early Renaissance, so very present in Florence, and the beautiful opaque colors of the murals have had a significant impact on my treatment of surface, choice of colors, composition, and storytelling. I try to be playful and inventive, and struggle hard to break away from traditional image-making. Working with watercolor collages, imprints, and different mediums on paper help me to do that.

 

 

I prefer to work with acrylics, watercolor, and ink. They are more immediate and better fit my character. But I do turn to oil occasionally because acrylic paint has limitations in depth and articulation. The surface of my paintings and the sense of texture is very important. This is the reason why I sometimes use natural materials as well, which in turn creates a curious and interesting play with the rest of the painting.

 

 

Artists that I admire and inspire me (some in content, others in technique and composition) are Manet, Marlene Dumas, Francis Bacon, Egon Schiele, Kerry James Marshall, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. My goals are to be recognized internationally as a contemporary artist and hopefully start to have a steady income selling my art regularly.

 

Tina Birch Chimenti invites you to follow her on Instagram.

 

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