Snippets of Japanese and Spanish echo in the background of the slums and tenements. Neon lights flicker in the distance as one voyeuristically peeks inside the apartments, their inhabitants often nude in dwellings echoing from the past a vintage film oozing with noir and noise. We have entered into the miniature world of artist Tracey Snelling.
Since we interviewed Snelling early last year we have continually stumbled across her works nationwide at art fairs in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. So when we heard about her new museum show, “The Storytellers: Narratives in International Contemporary Art,” we simply had to visit her Oakland, CA studio to get a behind-the-scenes look at what she’s been working on lately.
The exhibit, opening in late August at the Stenersen Museum in Norway, is a compiliation of international artists reinterpreting the writings of Mario Vargas Llosa. Even if you’re not familiar with the Peruvian author’s works, Snelling’s ability to immerse the viewer in her Liliputian habitats transcends cultural and linguistic differences for a universal appeal.