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Carmen McNall
Bay Area native Carmen McNall shares her favorite parts of living in Oakland and the story of her transition from printmaker to painter.
I take pride in practicing a handmade trade passed down through generations, aiming to preserve the significance of a past time and place.
About the Artist
Oakland, California-based painter Carmen McNall (b. 1988) incorporates textures and patterns significant within the history of traditional craft-making to explore the symbolism of handmade objects. These timeless pieces represent humanity and hold personal power, providing strength in times of struggle and telling fragments of intimate stories and moments in time. Using a unique process that combines painting and wood-carving, Carmen's work balances colored patterns bound by organic shapes against stretches of pure pigment, suspending the objects in saturated space, and accentuating grooves of carved wood. Carmen's practice relates directly to the handmade in both subject matter and execution, opening a dialogue about the relationship between people and their environments and examining the empowering qualities these places retain.
Exhibited at Hashimoto Contemporary, 2023
Solo exhibition, Enfold in a Greater Space, Glass Rice Gallery, 2022
Artist in Residence at Google, 2021
