At just 24 years old, Lindsay Rapp, proud and petite, owns her own art gallery in the hub of Old City, Philadelphia. After graduating from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Rapp took her passion for painting and worked towards having a space of her own, where her nautical, ethereal paintings could adorn each square foot. Rapp is originally from Clearwater, Florida and a frequent visitor of the west coast, which could be the reason her artwork seems to fit her persona impeccably.
"I feel connected to the water and the ocean and didn't realize how strong that force was until I moved to Philadelphia, where a shore is merely a notion. I love peaceful vibes, meditative and serene atmospheres, but I also admire strong female leads and magical situations. In many of my pieces, I strive to put them all together. When I opened my gallery, it was then that I realized how influential an audience could be. Everyone takes something different out of my work and this varying perspective really inspires me. The gallery is not just me surrounded by my artwork, it's a hub of everyone who walks through those doors."
When Rapp was 4 years old, she won her first award for artistic pursuit after her preschool teachers witnessed her apparent talent. Right off the bat, she was featured in calendars and interviewed on live television. Her passion may have started off as cheap printer paper and worn Crayolas, but it has since transformed into large scale oil and acrylic paintings. So far, Rapp's body of work is divided into four collections- Muses, Seascapes, Abstract and Wildlife. Muses is an authentic portrayal of Rapp's veneration of the classic empowered female lead. Subjects of the paintings stand tall, accompanied by the movement of waves, a wild animal sidekick or simply their self-assertive attitude. No matter the case, indomitable characters are clearly the focus, and Rapp's skill for mystical, semi-surreal territory adds to her style.
"I want to portray empowered females with influence of mythology, history and contemporary times," Rapp explains. "Kind of like an underlying Venus in each piece. Strong and full of stories."
And to be quite frank, many of her subjects strikingly resemble Rapp herself, which could say something about her personal confidence or this deep connection with another time, another place.
Rapp's abstract work stays consistent with a theme of blue and green hues, but the focus is subjective. Many pieces take on the aesthetic of a calm or raging ocean (also keeping true to her love for all things nautical), while pieces like Faux and Flux shift the viewer towards surreal geometry- an angled shape, similar to a 2D crystal- floating amid two scenes of crashing waves, the innards of the shape questionably containing a separate realm.
While Lindsay Rapp Gallery's doors are almost always open to the public, Rapp is still participating in shows and exhibitions outside of her space. The first Friday of every month, Old City welcomes locals and visitors to take in all their diverse arts district has to offer...and you can find Rapp happily greeting interested viewers.
To check out more of Lindsay Rapp's work visit her website here.
