Charleston, South Carolina. Home of the Charleston…and Chambers Austelle, an artist with an offbeat interest in biology and psychology. Her pieces, particularly those she created for Charleston Supported Art, a unique program that supports and showcases the work of local artists, place lifelike female faces on lurid, stylized backgrounds. The hair and hands simplified to outlines, contrast sharply with the facial features, rendered in detail down to the eyelashes and lip creases, with subtle shadowing to show the planes of the cheekbones. Austelle’s fascination with human perception, body movement, and tension is made evident, and visually pleasing, to the viewer.
Words by L. Kimberly Leung
