11岁小画家再携作品开展

   Child prodigy Autumn de Forest rose to fame a few years ago when, at the tender age of 7, the Discovery Channel labeled her a “child genius.” Media outlets at the time were enamored with her painting abilities, praising the child for her tendency to create canvases that looked like the work of established artists. Now she is about to be back in the limelight with a July exhibition.

    Most of de Forest’s works are Easter egg-colored reinterpretations of iconic pieces by Andy Warhol or Jasper Johns or even Grant Wood. One painting, for example, turns Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe image into a Barbie doll.

    Since her heady days in the single digits, the young artist has spoken at Harvard, shown at galleries across the United States, and attracted US$25,000 for a single artwork.

    Spending up to four hours a day in her own studio in the de Forest family home in Las Vegas, de Forest still attends school just like any other 11-year-old.

    “My favorite classes are history and science and of course my real passion is my painting,” said de Forest.

    In July, the young artist will showcase another set of her signature canvases and a special tribute painting to those affected by Hurricane Sandy, which will be on view at Ocean Galleries in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. Just in time for the show, the “pint-sized Picasso” has released a video online which shows the media-ready adolescent explaining her origin story as a painter.

    “At that time, when I started, I wanted to change the world for the better. And I realized I want to do this through painting.”

    The entire clip sounds like a more mature version of an Aelita Andre interview — less glitter tossing and talk of sleepless nights, of course, but the message of dedication and ambition is the same. (SD-Agencies)