Sophia Linden

BFA in Art & Design

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Collection

Collection is a series of five large oil paintings depicting detailed studies of the surface of rocks and fossils found on the shores of Lake Michigan. The inspiration for this work comes from a life spent engrossed in nature and an enthusiasm for detail. As a realist painter, I began to explore abstraction with this series, removing external context and zooming in on the subject so much that it became an ambiguous pattern. The surface of stone tells a story as old as time, as remnants of organisms preserved in mineral deposits that wash up on a beach allow us a window into the distant past. The process of creating these large scale images as paintings mimics the scrutinous hunt for rocks as it takes patience and a careful, vigilant surveillance in order to notice and capture tiny details. Through this series, I want the viewer to be able to find life in these objects, to give them time for consideration, to see them as valuable. By taking the time to study the small things with abundant curiosity, we learn there is so much to discover about the world we live in.
A fragment of a Horn Coral fossil embedded in a yellow colored rock painted on a vertical, rectangular canvas.

Horn Coral, 2021, Oil on Canvas, 24” x 36”

A variety of Crinoid fossils; small circular and oval shaped fossils embedded in a black and yellow colored rock painted on a vertical, rectangular canvas.

Crinoid, 2021, Oil on Canvas, 24” x 36”

A teal colored stone with a porous surface painted on a vertical, rectangular canvas.

Leland Blue, 2021, Oil on Canvas, 24” x 36”

A web-like coral fossil called Favosite painted on a vertical rectangular canvas. The structure is almost cellular, with cool toned grey colored cells and a warm, orange-toned structure.

Favosite, 2021, Oil on Canvas 24” x 36”

A brown and grey sedimentary rock speckled with dark holes and crevices painted on a vertical, rectangular canvas. Embedded in the surface are fragments of tiny bones and fossils from various organisms.

Sedimentary Stone with Bone Fragments, 2021, Oil on Canvas, 55” x72”

A gallery space with white walls and wood floors, exhibiting the four, medium sized paintings next to the rock display and artist statement.

Exhibition space featuring the four medium sized paintings next to the artist statement and podium rock display.

A gallery space with white walls and wood floors, exhibiting the single large painting next to the window of the gallery behind the rock display and artist statement.

Exhibition space featuring the large painting near the artist statement and podium rock display.

A white podium with an image of rocks at the original beach site adhered to the top, supporting a glass tray filled with water and the five rocks featured in the paintings. The podium stands directly beneath the artist statement and the scientific context of Lake Michigan Fossils.

LAKE MICHIGAN FOSSILS
Kelley, Robert W. Guide to Michigan Fossils. Department of Natural Resources, 1962.
“Most fossils found in Michigan date back several hundred million years when the warm, clear, salt-water Paleozoic seas were entering the Michigan basin. Most of the creatures preserved from those ancient seas are the many various types of lime-secreting shellfish and corals whose remains, incidentally, make up a very large part of present limestone beds. Occasionally, parts of primitive fish are found. Also, in the coal measures, carbonized impressions of ancient plant parts are not uncommon. The most common type of fossilization involves a chemical process where the original organic material is entirely replaced by calcite or silica or some other mineral – a petrification – often resulting in the preservation of infinite detail. There are many other kinds of fossilization, but replacement mineralization gives the paleontologist the opportunity of finding out a great deal about the plants and animals of a certain time period in stone.”

A birds eye view of the rock display, portraying the five rocks submerged in water, placed on top of an image of the location they were found in to give the viewer the impression that they are looking into the shallow lake water and discovering these rocks for themselves.

Rock Display, Five Rocks Submerged in Water in a Glass Tray

Detailed shots of the large painting showing a textured surface and the blending of warm and cool toned browns and greys. Up close one can see the brushwork details in the highlights and shadows of the forms.

Close-up detail shots

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