Linda Gritta

Linda Gritta (1956, USA)

Linda Gritta is an abstract painter whose use of color is striking yet restrained. In her painting journey, she started with more figurative subjects and has drifted to abstract but not entirely. Each piece seems to be connected to a recognizable object or landscape such as a chain link fence or the repetitious feel of the layers of mountains in the distance.

Titles give clues to what she was thinking about through the process such as with “Azalea Park” which has literal evidence of a park with an abstracted dog and what could be a bench or a fence. The color palette gives further clues with blue at the top and green at the bottom to demonstrate sky and grass, respectively. 

Gritta explains, “On any given day, we are surrounded by the relentless noise of social media.  Unseen players offer up a non-stop barrage of words and virtual images from shiny devices of all shapes and sizes, each competing desperately for our attention and presence.  Ironically, it is because of these forces that we are losing our ability to truly be present, to pay attention, and to slow down.  More than ever before, in these times of dizzying change and chatter, we long for and need a place of quiet and repose”.

The use of thick linear marks mixed with areas of translucency pull the viewer into this world created by Gritta. Her work encourages the viewer to take a moment, ponder over the soothing mixed with the scrawling, the soft with the bright and vibrant. There is a thoughtfulness that invites one to bring those values into their own life.

Originally from Chicago, she moved to Asheville in 2005. Gritta received a BFA from Converse College in South Carolina and studied painting at the New York Studio School.

Education

New York Studio School    Marathon Program          1997-2001   

Converse College BFA Painting & Printmaking               2004                     

Penland School of Crafts   Summer Sessions            1999-2001

Solo Exhibitions

2018      Spheres of Influence, University of North Carolina-Asheville NC         

2016      On the Surface of the Deep End, Theatre Art Galleries, High Point, NC
2012      This Year and Several Thousand Before, Grand Bohemian Gallery, Asheville, NC
2009      50 Words or Less, Christa Faut Gallery, Cornelius, NC
2008      Recent Works, Vigne,  Asheville, NC
2006      New Ground, Carolina Gallery, Spartanburg, SC
2005      Recent Works, Christa Faut Gallery, Cornelius, NC
2001      A Place on Earth, Footlight Players, Charleston, SC
2001      Recent Works, Museum of Art, Spartanburg, SC

Selected Exhibitions

2021      Place & Presence, Bender Gallery, Asheville NC 

2019      Light, Color, Action, Upstairs Artspace, Tryon, NC

2019      NEXT: Alumnae Exhibition, Converse College, Spartanburg, SC

2015      3 Jurors 3 Shows,  New York Studio School, New York, NY
2010      New Directions, Grand  Bohemian, Asheville, NC
2006      Interior/Exterior, Gallery 5, Rock Hill, NC
2005      New Directions, Hoorn Ashby Gallery, New York, NY
2000      Still Life, The Wells Gallery, Charleston, SC