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About the Artist

LaDara McKinnon is a classically trained, teaching abstract painter, curator, and business owner based in Charlotte, NC. She grew up in Okinawa, Japan and in Oahu, Hawai'i, which informs her insights into cultural syncretism and sharing stories of triumph within her intuitive practice. Her artwork is layered with gestural mark-making, vivid colors, and expressive brushstrokes.

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LaDara’s work has been licensed, published, and collaborated with numerous brands such as HGTV, Better Homes and Gardens, Bank of America, NBA, HomeGoods, Wexel Art, Allsprings Global Headquarters, Atrium Heath, WestElm.com, and more. Her work has also been invitationally exhibited at The Harvey B. Gantt, Matthew's Town Hall, and GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art. She has been invited to speak on panels and host workshops at colleges and retreats such as Catawba Valley Community College, Davidson College, Utah Valley University, and McColl Center for Arts + Innovation.

 

In 2019, she received recognition from Honeybook and Rising Tide as 20 On The Rise, a celebration honoring independent business owners in the creative industry.

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Her artwork's objective is to create an immersive experience for the viewer that has lasting moments of introspection and promotes outward conversation. LaDara has also supported philanthropic causes and community focused initiatives.

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About the Art

My voice as an artist is shaped by my intersectional identity and my upbringing living abroad. My work allows me to detach from physical identifiers while having a career and art practice that challenges stereotypes, inequalities, and social norms. I choose to use the universal languages of art and color to garner appreciation for joy and overcoming rather than dwelling on adversity. My intuitive process is rooted in color theory and abstract expressionism. The layering in my paintings is intertwined with complex emotions, intuition, and experimentation that is paired with my unique mark-making capabilities that ode to the Japanese and Hawaiian cultures I feel connected to because of my childhood. By gathering elements of cultural syncretism into abstraction within my practice, I am able to create immersive visual experiences that resonate with diverse audiences. My artistic journey aims to convey stories of equanimity, resilience, and triumph.

Check out my CV here.

As Seen In

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Photo Credit : Corrie   and Megan
 
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