Blackboard Follies

Like many creatives, Karina Gentinetta’s road to success wasn’t a straight line. Before she became a prolific abstract painter of mesmerizing, charged works in acrylics, pencil, oil pastels and charcoal, she was a lawyer.

Born in Buenos Aires, Gentinetta and her siblings fled with her parents during Argentina’s Dirty War, when thousands of people were killed or forcibly disappeared by the government. The Gentinettas arrived in New Orleans, where Karina later graduated from Tulane University Law School. She initially wanted to major in art, but her cautionary parents — her father drove a taxi in New Orleans — urged their bright daughter to study something more practical.

She practiced law for 13 years before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, destroying her and her husband’s home. Gentinetta found herself at a fork in the road: law or art? She chose the latter. She also began to nurture her interest in the beauty of vintage objects and how they could be reborn, opening a shop for antique furniture. Some of her earliest paintings were made to complement her antique presentations.

Inspired by artists like Cy Twombly and Franz Kline, Gentinetta’s abstract paintings — typically pale canvases with calculated bursts of color — are emotional. Others bear a more stark palette of black and white with intense and sometimes graphic strokes. Gentinetta often uses materials that one might find at a construction site, like wall plaster and house paint, symbolically and tactilely responding to how her city was wrecked but has endured. Her collectors have included Courtney Love Cobain, and in 2016 she collaborated with RH Modern on a limited-edition series. Gentinetta’s work tells a unique story that does not end after a glance.

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Mixed media is a type of art that sees artists using a range of materials or more than one medium. Find a range of mixed media paintings and other artworks for your space today on 1stDibs.

Mixed media is distinct from multimedia, which describes art involving electronic media, including video, computers and digital elements. Artists combine painting, drawing, photography and sculpture for mixed media art. Instead of sticking to one form, they aim to break boundaries and create unique pieces. Pop art is one of the vibrant periods for mixed media art, with Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg among its most fabled producers. Rauschenberg, like many mixed media artists, used found objects in his work, from cast-off furniture to newspapers.

Collage is one of the most well-known areas of mixed media. Artists use various types of paper, fabric, photographs and more to create one cohesive work. A type of collage is assemblage, which involves 3D objects.

While artists may use fabric in collage, it can be the very substance of the art itself. Fabric art makes extensive use of texture. Artists may paint or embroider on fabric to create layers of texture and color to evoke a specific feeling. They can also transfer photos onto fabric for innovative ways to display visuals.

Resin-based art has clean, sharp lines and a definitive shape. Resin is a liquid that hardens to a high-gloss surface and is used to seal wood, counters and floors. Resin can also seal artwork, and many artists tint it using pigment powder, ink, spray paint and other vivid materials. If water is added, the resin will turn milky instead of being completely transparent. It’s common for artists working in mixed media to use resin on nontraditional surfaces like glass, wood, metal and stone. This creates a shine that’s perfect to brighten a dull space in the home or office.

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