About

My paintings are reflections of my meandering notions on life, from general questions to deeply personal discoveries. I use my art to confront issues brought up by pop culture as well as tradition. I am mostly concerned with cultural and personal expectations, struggling with matters relating to identity, specifically: success, happiness, relationships, intimacy and privacy.
In the beginning, I paint for play. I fling paint around a canvas with the same oblivious freedom that once allowed me as a child to dance like a maniac in the front yard, with no concern of looking like a fool. As in life, eventually, I grow up. Out of an insatiable need to make sense of things, I recognize myself emerging from the random splatters of paint. I explore depth by shading with pen until mysterious little landscapes form. Each piece of work begins this way. From the abstract landscape, I etch a portrait to identify with, slowly using my pen to chisel away at those brief moments of clarity.
No painting has one specific concept. Each is a web made up of private reflection and social commentary. Similar to a diary, my paintings are my ramblings. One thought leads to one dot, which leads to the next. The first line may have nothing to do with the last.



Meranda Turbak was born in Watertown, South Dakota, in 1979. She currently lives in Stillwater, Minnesota and works from her studio in Northeast Minneapolis. She received her BFA in Painting from Minnesota State University, Mankato (2005). She has exhibited her work throughout the Midwest, opening the Meranda Turbak Gallery of Modern Art at the historic Goss Opera House in her hometown, Watertown, SD (2009). She currently exhibits her work in various locations throughout the Twin Cities.