Anki Gelb, her art and a friend.
Anki Gelb, who is originally from Stockholm Sweden and moved to the US in 1984, is a bit of an outlier in that she identifies her residence not just in Stockholm but also in the San Francisco Bay Area and Bend, Oregon.
Gelb is a contemporary artist working primarily with oil in her studio at Industrial Center Building (ICB) in Sausalito.
Long harboring yearning to paint, Gelb found the creative time and space to make painting a reality after retiring from the business world. She has taken college art classes and regularly takes workshops to experiment with new techniques and new mediums. In the end she returns to oil, a medium with which she most resonates.
Gelb has exhibited in numerous juried shows in the Bay Area and her art is found nationally and internationally in private and institutional collections.
“My paintings reflect the light and colors of my native country, Sweden,” Gelb says. “The range varies from the spare light of winter when colors are very subtle to the intense, long daylight of summer when colors are saturated. Color, shapes and lines are very important in the expression of my art that’s frequently minimalistic, which is another Scandinavian influence. Although my art has moved from representational towards abstraction, my inspiration is still influenced by nature and my love for the natural world. I find the painting process absorbing; it’s constantly changing during the process and the outcome is sometimes surprisingly different from my initial idea. This creative dynamic keeps the painting process energetic and intriguing.”
Gelb, who last displayed her work at the Chamber in 2016, will be showcasing her work on the walls of the Mill Valley Chamber’s space at 85 Throckmorton Ave., including a reception on Tuesday, October 3rd, as part of the Mill Valley Arts Commission’s First Tuesday Artwalk (5:30-7:30pm).