‘Pink Creatures’

Local artist Andrew Linskens is presenting a new exhibition of large-scale paintings at the Andrew Linskens Studio Gallery.

Linskens, who has several murals around Northeast Wisconsin, recently opened his own studio/gallery space at 124 N. Broadway in De Pere.

“Prior to doing any of the mural stuff, I’ve always been a fine artist and I participate in that world a lot, which involves getting into shows…” Linskens said. “There’s a big jump from street art into the gallery thing… I’ve always had kind of a multifaceted approach to making artwork… So at this point, rather than have my home studio, I’ve been looking for a studio space where I can work, and this opportunity came up and it’s really nice because it’s a working space and a gallery space.”

The exhibition, open July 10, features large-scale paintings of pink floral landscapes inhabited by hidden creatures woven throughout each piece.

“Pink is an interesting color to me because it can be so many different things,” Linskens said. “Pink was used for both men and women for must of history, up until recent history where it’s been kind of marketed as a boy/girl kind of thing. I grew up in the ‘80s, so hot pink and all these colors were kind of part of the styling of the time. The coolest bikes, skateboards and stuff like that were hot pink. Even though in a recent sense, it’s been looked at as a feminine color, I like the idea that it could be masculine or feminine…And the idea of having paintings in reference to vegetation I also like because typically vegetation is green, so it’s kind of taking and inverting the color to the opposite color. It does something interesting right off the bat for the viewer.”

The paintings invite viewers to slow down, explore each scene and discover unexpected forms concealed within lush botanical environments.

“I just like that people take a moment of pause out of their day to look at art,” Linskens said. “It’s something where it kind of invites the viewer to walk up and look closer.”

As visitors spend time with the work, the paintings gradually reveal layers of imagery that transform familiar landscapes into immersive visual experiences, encouraging repeated viewing and personal discovery.

“The creatures within it are kind of us,” Linskens said. “They’re the people that are withing the communities that kind of shape the culture within the community.”
Pink Creatures will be on display through late August.

Learn more about Pink Creatures and the gallery on Andrew Linskens Studio Gallery’s Facebook page.