Nina Elder

"Pile"  2009  Acrylic on Panel  48" x 84"

"El Huerfano (The Orphan) II"  2011  Acrylic and Gesso on Panel  36" x 48"

"Double Feature I (Alamosa)"  2009  Acrylic on panel  36" x 48"

"Defunct: Ojo Caliente"  2011  Acrylic on Panel  48" x 60"

 

"Lode"  2011  Acrylic on Panel 48" x 60"

Nina Elder's paintings apply the flat mass produced feel of pop-art to the post industrial American landscape. It's an unexpectedly nice fit. There's something about this look, that was originally employed to mimic the glossy glitz of pop-culture and consumerism, that does as fine a job describing the shabby detritus of our modern landscapes. It's as if to say, this too is consumerism. Not in the form of entertainment and advertising, but the more direct consequences of how consumer culture consumes and transforms the real world. Being a resident of New Mexico most of her work echoes the open spaces of the West, but it's not a romantic openness. Instead what she sees is how the perceived emptiness is used as an excuse to construct and destruct without concern of cosequences.
You can see more paintings, plus drawings and other work on her website: ninaelder.com
Nina's work was recently featured in New American Paintings 96.