Hauntingly Beautiful Ophelia Paintings Seduce You From Beneath the Water’s Surface

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Hauntingly Beautiful Ophelia Paintings Seduce You From Beneath the Water’s Surface

Kari-Lise Alexander’s immaculately-painted ladies succumb to their watery fate.

Through a liquid lens, gorgeous flower-wreathed females gasp for air from below the water's surface. Their hands and spindly limbs cling to bright and exotic floral arrangements as their bodies are ravished by lapping wavesKari-Lise Alexander's sublimely saturated paintings, part of a series called WAKE, are disturbingly beautifulWith just a glinting, sideway glance, Alexander's painterly females have no trouble connecting with the viewer. Their relaxed forms are both provocative and vulnerable, and the aesthetic is reminiscent of the folklore-inspired paintings of Swedish artist John Bauer.

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Alexander, who resides in Seattle, draws on her own Nordic background to instill deep-felt emotions into her paintings, drawing narrative inspiration from moments of transformation within Scandinavian folktales. Take a look at a few canvases from WAKE below:

Surface. All images courtesy the artist

Cathedral 

Night Gardens

Stag I

Wake

Kari-Lise Alexander's show WAKE (Project Room) runs from April 1–22, 2017 at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City. Find more information on the exhibition page, here.

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