塔拉·沃尔特斯 Tara Walters
A Mirror for the Romantic, 2024
平纹细布上水性颜料和太平洋海水
Water based paint and Pacific Ocean Water on muslin
140 x 300 cm
天线空间即将呈现艺术家塔拉·沃尔特斯在中国的首次个展《梦想乡》。展览将于2024年5月24日开幕，并持续至2024年7月18日。开幕当天18:00，艺术家将在现场带来表演“Faeryteeth”。
塔拉·沃尔特斯将颜料和太平洋的海水混合进行作画。塔拉的画面有一种梦幻感，这可能与她常用明亮的颜色去点染可爱的动植物和自然景观有关。不在画布上先刷底漆的“叛逆”使得柔和感浸染了画布，然后渗透到每个人的心中打造出超现实主义的幻象。在塔拉自己的定义中，这些虚无缥缈、悬浮在画布内的图像是她的“预言”，通过视觉温和地提醒众人图像是心灵和精神的，而不是尘世的。通过创造通往意识层面的通道，塔拉相信艺术能在某个瞬间赋予人们空间去安置相信形而上之物所需的疑虑。
Ruritania源自于安东尼·霍普（Anthony Hope，1863-1933）小说中的虚构王国，在塔拉的语汇里，Ruritania是指引她呈现其自身的幻象世界。以下文本来自于塔拉·沃尔特斯与马里布萨满Stoyana P.C. Ht.围绕本次展览的一场对话，在塔罗牌阵的指引中回溯艺术家与创作媒介、与画面亲切的心灵交感。
Antenna Space is pleased to announce Tara Walters’s first solo exhibition in China, Ruritania, which will open on May 24, 2024 and run through July 18, 2024. A musical performance as Faeryteeth will take place on the day of the opening by the artist at 6 p.m..
Tara Walters blends paint with the water of the Pacific Ocean. Tara Walters’ paintings have a dreamlike quality that may be related to her tendency for bright colors to punctuate lovely flora and fauna, and natural landscapes too. The rebellion of utilizing unprimed canvases allows the softness and gentleness to saturate the canvas and then permeate everyone’s mind, creating surrealistic visions. Walters informally refers to this misty and ethereal body of work as her “future-telling paintings”, a gentle visual reminder that images are of the soul and spirit rather than of the earth. By building a gateway to the realm of consciousness, Walters believes that art can, in some moments, give space to place the doubts needed to believe in something intangible and metaphysical.
“Ruritania” originates from a fictional country in Anthony Hope(1863-1933)’s novel, the way Tara sees it, “Ruritania” is a visional world ask her to render it. The following conversation comes from a meeting between Tara Walters and Malibu Shaman Stoyana P. C. Ht. about the exhibition, retracing the artist’s intimate spiritual connection with medium and her works under the guidance of tarot.
加利福尼亚，马里布
2024年2⽉22⽇，太平洋标准时间下午6:00
由Nora Mapp口译
Malibu, CA
February, 22, 2024, 6:00 pm PST
Interpreted by Nora Mapp
Tara：今天我想和你谈谈这次展览的新画作。让我们从灵透力（灵视、灵听、灵觉）开始，你从画作中听到了什么？你能捕捉到什么吗？
I want to talk about the new paintings for the show with you today. Let’s start with the Clairs* (seeing, hearing, feeling), what are you hearing from the paintings? Are you picking anything up?
Stoyana：稍等，我去阅览室烧点⿏尾草。之前有⼈在这⾥点了根洋基蜡烛，我得把味道弄出去～ 感谢您的耐⼼等待。好的，是的，我收到了你“同伴”的消息。
One second, let me burn some sage in the reading room. Someone lit a yankee candle in here earlier and I have to get the smell out~ Thanks for your patience. Ok, yes, I’m hearing from your teammates.
Tara：你是说动物们吗？
You mean the animals?
Stoyana：不，是和你同行的颜色，以及你布置展览的⽅式，从⼀个房间通向下⼀个房间，队伍从⽩天潜入⿊夜。
No, it’s the colors that are part of your team and the way you set up the show, with one room leading to the next, the team journeys through day into night.
Tara：我想，在过去一年中我必须成长起来。并不是所有事情都是有关“魔法”的。我只是想把过去⼀年的垃圾（能量）带⾛，这样我就能倾听、绘画以及听见（传讯）。
I think I had to grow up in the last year. Not everything is magical. I just want to get this gunk [energy] from the last year away so that I can listen and paint and hear.
Stoyana：确实有种转变的感觉。我正在看这幅绘有⼩熊猫的作品，感觉这幅作品有点陈旧了。有⼀种过渡的感觉、一种沉重与对立，这是在你之前的作品中从未见过的。你正在做这件事，并且我得到的讯息是，你做对了。
It does feel like a transformation. I’m looking at this one with the red pandas. It feels like the work is a little older. There is something coming across as transitional. There’s a heaviness, an opposition that I haven’t seen in the work before. And you’re doing it. The message I’m getting is yeah, you got it right.
Sympathetic Magic, 2024
平纹细布上水性颜料和太平洋海水
Water based paint and Pacific Ocean Water on muslin
254 x 200 cm
Sympathetic Magic (details)
Tara：你知道，那张画在很大一部分上（对我而言）只是在观察并确保我所做的事情是对的，在我创作初期，观察与倾听自己的绘画是最艰难的。真正地抽身出来，抓住机会，当我听到我必须停下来的时候就停下。然后再进入非常细节的部分，比如这张小熊猫的作品。我觉得在很多时候，绘画是对你周遭⽣活乃至每个⼈⽣活的⼀种隐喻或模仿。特别是作为⼀名年轻艺术家，我们必须勇敢地跳出来，相信我们的所感、所想和所做所为。因为任何其他的东西都不过是一幅画过了头的画。而如何才能画出⼀幅好画？你只需倾听，然后作画。
You know a lot of that painting was just looking and making sure I was doing what, early in my practice, was the most difficult, looking and listening to my painting. Really pulling out and taking chances and stopping as soon as I hear that I have to stop. And then going really detailed, like, in the little panda areas. I feel like a lot of times painting is a metaphor or resemblance to life around you or life for everybody. Especially as a young artist, we just have to take the leap and trust in what we feel and what we know and what we do. Because anything else is just an over-painted painting. How do we just paint a good painting? You just listen, and you paint.
Stoyana：感觉就像这些小熊猫导致了很多其他作品的问世。
It feels like those pandas led to a lot of these other pieces being let out.
Tara：是的！我今天在画这匹马，我妈妈在工作室里看到了它，然后说“这匹马太疯狂了！”她说的没错，马的眼睛很愤怒，很生气，还在踢人。她说“它在踢画边的那只小兔子呢。” 你看到边缘那些黄绿色的圆球形了吗？我想，好吧，那我就把兔子单拎出来，给它下个定义。去年对于我来说是艰难的一年，也是兔年。
Yes! I was working on this one with the horse today. And my mom saw it in the studio and said, “this horse is so mad!” And she was right, it’s eyes are angry, it’s mad and it’s kicking. And she said, “it’s kicking a bunny at the edge of the painting.” Do you see that kind of green [yellow] blob [form] at the edge? I'm like, ok, I guess I’ll pull the bunny out and define it. And last year was such a rough year for me and it was the year of the bunny.
Happy New Year, 2024
平纹细布上水性颜料和太平洋海水
Water based paint and Pacific Ocean Water on muslin
213 x 183 cm
Happy New Year (details)
Stoyana：你是兔年出生的吗？
Were you born in the year of the rabbit?
Tara：不，我属马。我是一匹把兔子踢开的马。
No, I am a horse. I am a horse kicking the bunny away.
-
Stoyana：现在我们把牌（塔罗）拿出来吧，我希望由你来读它们。我知道你把塔罗当作解读自身和创作的工具，我会问⼀些问题，但我觉得你今晚读⼀下牌会有帮助。
Let’s take out the decks now but I’d like you to read them. I know you use it as atool for yourself and your practice. I’ll ask some questions but I think it would be helpful if you read the cards tonight.
Tara：好的，我带了两幅我最喜欢的牌，达西夫人美人鱼牌阵和贝林神谕，我一般两副牌同时用。
Ok. I brought my two favorite decks. Dame Darcy’s Mermaid Deck and the Belline Oracle. I usually like to check in with both.
Stoyana：你想象中的“梦想乡”是什么地方？
What is this place Ruritania that you’ve pictured?
Tara：【洗牌、抽牌】
这是⼀个可以带你逃离的地⽅。是的，这是⼀张“节制”牌，所以它是⼀个地方可以让你暂停并审视什么对你来说是最重要的。当感到极度悲伤时，你可以逃往这里。这是“宝剑九”，⼀张⾮常悲伤的牌，仿佛你⽣活中的⼀切都是负担和灾难。⽽“宝剑”代表着你的思索，所以“梦想乡”是一个可以让你逃避思想的地方。但也是一个让你重新坠⼊爱河的地方，不仅是与他人，也是与自己。这张是“恋人”，因此，当你感觉糟糕透顶时，你可以去那⾥疗养，重新爱上⾃⼰！
[shuffling]
It’s a place where you can go away and escape. Yeah, it’s the Temperance card, so it’s a place to pause and examine what’s important to you. It’s also a place to escape to when feeling extremely sad. This is the Nine of Swords. This is a very sad card, as if everything in your life is a burden and disaster. And the Swords, they’re your thoughts, and so Ruritania is a place to escape thoughts. But it's also where you can fallback in love, here are The Lovers, not only with others but with yourself. So it’s a retreat you go to when you’re feeling like shit and can fallback in love with yourself!
Stoyana：那贝林神谕对“梦想乡”是怎么解释的？
What does Belline have to say about Ruritania?
Tara：【洗牌、抽牌】
啊，是的——它是家，是花园，是你的提升之所。这张是提升之牌，在这⾥你能学会如何变得更加优雅，然后返回，对⽣活有新的看法。
[shuffling]
Ah, yeah– it’s home. It’s the garden. It’s where you elevate. This is the card of elevation. Yeah, it’s where you learn how to be more graceful and you can then go back and have a new viewpoint on life.
-
Stoyana：好，这就引出了下⼀个问题。我在看（这张画中）狗周围的窗框，和这幅很高的作品中的瓶花。跟我说说马蒂斯吧。
Ok, that leads me to the next question. I’m looking at the frame of the window around the dog and this vase of flowers in this tall painting. Tell me about Matisse.
Song of Silence, 2024
平纹细布上水性颜料和太平洋海水
Water based paint and Pacific Ocean Water on muslin
244 x 152 cm
Tara：它就像初觉。“宝剑王牌”，也是学习新事物的开始，然后，我在这里看到了⼀种主动性。我在12⽉回家探亲时，像小时候一样去了国家美术馆，我觉得自己应该画得更像我的马。
It’s like the first knowing. Ace of Swords. It’s also the beginning of learning something new and then, here, I see an initiative. When I was visiting my family in December, I went to the National Gallery of Art the way I did all the time as a kid and I felt the initiative to paint more like my horses.
Stoyana：这是什么意思？像你的马一样画画？
What does that mean? To paint like your horses?
Tara：我的马：罗斯科、⽶罗、马蒂斯、莫⾥索。它们的母亲是塞斯纳。马的名字总是和它们⽗亲的第⼀个字母相同，这样每个⼈都知道它们来⾃哪⾥。我的第⼀个M小马是米罗，我早期的很多作品都是关于它的，但当我秋天去探望它时，我意识到我需要拉近与马蒂斯的距离。我和它的链接并不强，它出⽣时我和画家（马蒂斯）的链接也不强，但它就是马蒂斯。我是在2023年秋天开始筹备这个展览的，也就是那时我意识到我需要把马蒂斯带到这⾥，带到加利福尼亚。我⼀直在想，怎样才能更接近马蒂斯？⼀开始是下意识的，但现在我正主动地通过画作召唤它。
My horses: Rothko, Míro, Matisse, Morisot. Their mother was Cessna. Horses are always named with the same first letter as their sire, so that everyone knows where they’re from. My first M baby was Míro and a lot of my early work was about him but when I went to visit in the fall, I realized it was Matisse I needed to bring closer. I didn’t have a strong connection with him, I didn’t have such a strong connection with the painter when he was born, but he was Matisse. I started working on this show in the fall of 2023, around the same time that I realized I needed to bring Matisse here, to California. I kept thinking, how can I bring Matisse closer? It started subconsciously but now I’m actively conjuring him through the paintings.
Stoyana：结合我对你的观察，我觉得贝林神谕是在说，这是你最初的热爱，是你认知的基础，是你⼀⽣中最想做的事情。你更倾向于照顾你的马匹还是成为⼀名艺术家？
Looking over your shoulder, I think that Belline is saying that this is the first love, the base knowing, this is the thing you wanted to do more than anything else in your life. Do you think it means taking care of your horse or being an artist?
Tara：都是。它们都是马蒂斯。
Both. They’re both Matisse.
Stoyana：“恶魔牌”、“梦想牌（圣杯七）”、“正义牌”和“魔术师牌”。
The Devil card, the dream card (Seven of Cups), Justice and the Magician card.
Tara：是的，我不得不成为“魔术师”，或者说⼥巫。实际上，这是帮助我通过视⻆的转变让马蒂斯进入（画面/思想）。
Yes, I’ve had to become the magician, or rather the witch. It was actually a perspective shift that allowed me to let Matisse in.
Stoyana：什么样的视⻆转变？需要改变什么？让我们和贝林牌⼀起关注这个问题。
What kind of perspective shift? What needed to change? Let’s focus on that with Belline.
Tara:【洗牌、抽牌】
有两组牌。这张牌就像是亟待治愈的悲伤，⽽另⼀套牌则是通过“正义（牌）”（的指示）来治愈悲伤。读牌就像画画⼀样，我想这就是我觉得它很有⽤的原因。
[shuffling]
There are two sets of cards. This card is basically like a sadness that needs to be healed and the other set brings healing through Justice. Reading the cards is almost like painting, I think that's why I find it so useful.
Stoyana：什么意思？它们有什么相似之处？
What do you mean? How are they similar?
Tara：每⼀幅画开始时，我总是先⽤清⽔和颜料冲洗正⾯，然后翻转画布，使其留下地面的印记。这是⼀种古⽼的超现实主义技法，是我⼏年前读了安德烈·布勒东和崔斯坦·查拉的作品后发现的，叫做“Decalcomania（转印）”。当我把画从地⾯拉起时，我可以看到使我发梦的形式。
I always begin each painting by creating a wash of water and color on the front, then flipping the canvas over to create an imprint of the ground. An old surrealist technique I discovered a few years ago after reading Andre Breton and Tristan Tzara called Decalcomania. When I pull the painting up from the floor’s surface I begin to see forms which allow me to dream.
Stoyana：所以印记告诉了你什么是绘画？
So the imprints tell you what the painting needs to be?
Tara：是的。回过头来看这张牌，我看到了这种束缚或病态。当时，由于种种原因，我在聆听画作时遇到了困难，个⼈琐事，或者我称之为“垃圾（杂念）”，每天都跟着我进⼊⼯作室。我⽆法做梦，但我不停地⽤⽔冲洗，最终通过层层叠叠的⾊彩营造出⼀种氛围。
Yes. Looking back at the cards, I see this constriction or sickness. At the time, I was having difficulties listening to the paintings for a lot of reasons, personal stuff, or gunk as I called it, that was following me into the studio each day. I couldn’t dream but I kept applying water washes and eventually layers of color built into atmospheres.
Stoyana：所以是色彩让你明⽩了？告诉了你它们需要什么？
The colors got through to you? And told you what they needed to be?
Tara：是的！我开始看到凤凰骄傲地坐在⼭上，她的灵魂周围环绕着⾊彩。我注意到⼀个马头形在天空中飞翔，我看到飞马在赫利孔⼭踏出了希波克林泉，这个喷泉被认为是诗歌灵感的源泉。我还开始看到三朵花，从⽽发现了道家的⼀个概念，即“三花聚顶”。“三花聚顶”指的是内丹术的⼀种⾼级境界，精、⽓、神在⼤脑中合⼀。
Yes! I began to see the Phoenix sitting proud on the mountain with colors surrounding her spirit. I noticed a form of a horse head flying through the sky which led me to see Pegasus creating the Hippocrene at Mt Helicon, a fountain believed to be the source of poetic inspiration. I also began to see the three flowers which led to the discovery of the a Taoist concept, “Three Flowers Condensing onto the Head” which refers to an advanced state in Inner Alchemy where essence, breath, and spirit unify in the brain.
Stoyana：你看，颜色是站在你这边的。
You see, the colors are your teammates.
Tara：我相信是画作想要我把它们创作出来，我只是通过揭示隐藏的信息来为之服务。“Decalcomania”⽅法是我创作的驱动⼒，这才是真正的梦想乡，这是⼀个希望我找到它的地⽅。展览的这些画作呈现了这样一个地方：它呼唤着我呈现它。
I believe the paintings want me to make them. I just act in service by uncovering the messages that are hidden. The Decalcomania method is the driving force within my work. This is the real Ruritania. It’s a place that wanted me to find it. This group of paintings shows a place that asked me to render it.
Stoyana：这种感觉很对，在⼀开始我感受到的转变才刚刚开始，这需要聆听。现在，我感到你开始更加相信传讯，并相信他人也能读懂你想传达的讯息。
That feels right and what I felt in the beginning about transition has only begun and it has to do with listening. I think you’re starting to trust the messages more, and to trust that others can read the messages too.
图文致谢艺术家及天线空间
塔拉·沃尔特斯（b.1990，华盛顿）现生活和工作于洛杉矶。她于萨凡纳艺术与设计学院获得学士学位，并于帕萨迪纳艺术设计学院获得硕士学位。
塔拉的绘画结合了膨胀运动和透明效果，这些光学效果反映了她对天体、棱镜光环以及其他崇高和浪漫景象的兴趣。最近的作品描绘了花园、秘密之门（带骷髅钥匙）、热气球、蝴蝶和隐藏的林地生物，这些意象都是梦幻、神奇和象征性的。
Tara Walters (b. 1990, Washington D.C.) currently lives and works in Los Angeles. She received her MFA from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and her BFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA.
Walters’ paintings combine swelling movement and transparency, optical effects that mirror her interest in celestial bodies, prismatic auras, and other sublime and romantic visions. Recent works depict gardens, secret gates (with skeleton keys), hot air balloons, but terflies, and hidden woodland creatures, imagery that is fantastic, magic and symbolic.
