Owen Westberg

Interviews by Brainard Carey

Owen Westberg (b. 1986, Pittsburgh) received an MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. His work has been included in recent exhibitions at Chris Sharp Gallery, Los Angeles; and Dunes, Portland, ME. Lake is his first solo exhibition. Westberg lives and works in Pittsburgh. "For over a decade, Owen has been painting discreet scenes in oil on smoothed birch panels or aluminum flashings that fit smartly into a purse or piece of hand luggage: late afternoon landscapes, round, glowy fruits, a fictional painter or pair of sneakers, tinted windows on a corporate building, and often, patterned fabrics. He paints these low-stakes subjects with wet, slightly oversized brushes that approximate rather than articulate. His marks are straightforward yet sensitive. Never sentimental. Tender but not sweet, and a bit unhinged—as if in a rush to get it all down. His color—always exact—pulls clarity from a hand that favors a wobbly line over a straight one. Simple shifts from cool grey to warm champagne cast a rippled cloth into full relief. The palette is limited but nuanced— soft ochre, medieval blues, kiwi, terracotta and buttercream, and the regular colors: yellow, orange, navy" - Anna Glantz Owen Westberg placemat, 2022 Oil on panel 10 x 8 inches 25.4 x 20.3 cm Owen Westberg ruin, 2023 Oil on aluminum flashing 7 x 5 inches 17.8 x 12.7cm Owen Westberg editorial, 2021 Oil on birch panel 12 x 3 inches 30.5 x 7.5 cm