Tilda Mann: Let's Love Color

Tilda Mann during her exhibition at Cerulean Arts

The series of paintings in Let’s Love Color began in Tilda’s pursuit of a material that would feel like the tempera paint she used in elementary school to paint flying birds for her classmates. It was vibrant and satisfyingly goopy. The adult version she settled on was Flashe, the opaque, vinyl-based paint that she used to achieve the intense red in “Ode to Matisse” and the cobalt in “Garden of Devotions.” Let’s Love Color also features other aqueous media including gouache, watercolor, aquarelle, and pen.
Tilda was an intuitive painter; she would often start working without a plan in mind, but rather with one detail that caught her attention -- an upside down chair on the lawn (“Autumn Antics”), her favorite Vietnamese vase (“Garden of Devotions”), the Greek compote vase that she inherited from her parents (“Spring Fling”). Sometimes, she would reference other artists whose work had inspired her, like Joan Brown, whom she held in high esteem for being a wonderful painter and a good mother. Inquiry and problem solving would often occur in later stages: what was possible with the bold images and colors she’d set in place? How would she push certain elements back and bring others forward? How would she create space? As she made decisions about color, paint application, and composition, she would sometimes paint or collage over existing work to transform a piece while letting some of its former qualities poke through (“Lev Luna on the Cusp”).
Tilda was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in November of 2018. She created most of the work for her October 2019 show, Premonitions and Visitations -- which opened the night before her brother’s death from the same disease -- during her own year of grueling chemotherapy. Much of that work dealt with a semi-conscious brushing up against mortality. It was a window into a dark internal experience that her steadfast patience, courage, and hope did not always cast light on.
This series is different. It asks, how do we counter what we’ve been through? The only way is beauty. She was aware that this show would be her last, and she felt that these works reflected her truest voice. The entire world is a narrow bridge, she knew -- so, let’s love color.
This statement was written by Tilda’s daughter Sara, based on conversations with Tilda about this show.

Tilda Mann Resume

Let's Love Color