Carla Falb
Biography
Carla Falb was raised in Philadelphia and spent her summers at the Jersey Shore. She received a B.F.A. from the Philadelphia College of Art, now the University of the Arts (UArts), and a Certificate in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1983. Twenty years later, Falb returned to UArts for her M.F.A. where she began a series of oil paintings based on roller coaster structures. Most of her imagery is based on photos and videos that she shoots while riding in the front car, to infuse the sensations she experiences into her paintings – like a 21st century J.M.W. Turner tied to the mast of a ship witnessing a storm at sea.
In 2017, Falb relocated to Orange County and is currently a tenured professor at Fullerton College. After the cross country move, she began a new iteration of her Roller Coaster Series based on photographs of light streams taken while riding the West Coaster and Pacific Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier at night, resulting in a fusion of abstraction and realism. This series is called Illuminations, and her imagery has expanded to include fireworks.
Falb’s work has appeared in exhibitions throughout the United States including the Billis Williams Gallery in Los Angeles, the Preston Contemporary Art Center in New Mexico, the Noyes Museum of Art in New Jersey, and the Alumni Gallery of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 2009, she was a recipient of a Dodge Foundation Fellowship for Artists/Educators to document amusement parks for her series of roller coaster paintings. Her work has been featured in Shoutout SoCal, New American Paintings, ArtSpeak, and Fresh Paint Magazine among others.
Artist Statement
To the casual viewer, my roller coaster paintings depict mere amusements, yet the underlying intention is to reveal the sacred in the profane. The rides serve as icons of our contemporary culture; reflecting the energy and complexity of our lives, as well as symbolizing our desire to escape everyday reality and overcome our fears; experiencing sheer exhilaration while living in the moment.
Moving from New Jersey to Southern California in 2017 was transformative. I had been painting roller coaster structures since 2002, based on photos I take from the front car of the rides. Soon after the move, I went to the Santa Monica Pier at night to capture new images. Later as I reviewed the photos, I realized I was more fascinated with the light streaming across the sky than the rides, and the emphasis in my work shifted.
I trace my attraction to light shining through the darkness back to my childhood. I have vivid memories of riding in the backseat of our car at night after a weekend at the beach, transfixed by the white and red lights speeding by; sitting on my father’s shoulders at a crowded Fourth of July fireworks display, mesmerized by the explosions of lights; and Christmas Eve services with my father at the pulpit, encouraging a full congregation to hold up their glowing candles with extended arms to illuminate a dark church.
This mystical quality of light emerging from darkness is at the core of my current work. While we experience the light streams in a euphoric state on amusement park rides, the glowing lights in my paintings simultaneously symbolize our undying spirit, our true self. An explosion of light – the Big Bang, created our universe; at birth we are thrust into light; during meditation, we experience illumination from within; and near-death experiences often involve a bright light at the end of a tunnel.
While the light in my paintings has always been important, now it takes the starring role: a streaming fusion of abstraction and realism, providing glimpses of eternity – our connection with spirit.
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