Kurtoplac Kurve

For Kristin Baker the act of painting is analogous to speedway racing; her art conjoins in parallel 'coliseums' of chance and glory. Drawing relations to the commodified spectacle of sport, Baker's Kurtoplac Kurve replicates the industrial design of the racetrack. Rendered on panels mounted on a freestanding armature, the curved structure mirrors a hairpin turn, resulting in a work that is both optically and spatially commanding. Built up in a series of stenciled layers, Baker rarely paints with a traditional brush, but rather a combination of spray gloss and spatula sign painting techniques, mimicking both billboard advertising and body shop finishes. The abstraction ultimately draws reference to both modernism and to the consumer spectacle.

A dynamic visual force instantly confronts the viewer in Kurtoplac Kurve. Towering over a spectacular myriad of forms, colours and lines, the work merges elements of painting, sculpture and architecture - unequivocally capturing the plastic associations of media spectacle with painterly flourish. Inspired by car racing, car crashes and the bracing experience of painting, Baker conveys all the dynamism of this macho arena: spontaneous, violent, and infinitely sexy. Fresh and assertive, the ultra-sleek surface of Kurtoplac Kurve exudes both power and breakdown; and by embedding stylised and explosive forms within a gridlike pattern, the artist here clearly references Cubism and Futurism. Visually and physically, Kurtoplac Kurve conveys the thunderous energy of stadium sports with its explosive kaleidoscope of colour and form, it also brilliantly captures the sensation of a single moment as a lingering, reverberated energy.