Reflections of Youth Painting

Conrad has been exhibiting his work since 1989, appearing in over 25 shows. Conrad has exhibited throughout Los Angeles including The Los Angeles Biennial, Gallery 825, Hello Artichoke, The Onyx Gallery, Bergamot Station, and at the acclaimed La Luz De Jesus Gallery. His portraits have been commissioned by actors, musicians and he was recently commissioned to paint a portrait for the CEO of The National Geographic Channel. Conrad Haberland’s current series of paintings, Wanderworld, depicts both human people and other animal-like creatures that wander through landscapes dominated by conflict, instability and danger. The creatures are caught up in their daily lives, going to-and-fro, while the world is obscured in mystery and uncertainty. Vivid colors and whimsical characters co-exist—whether young girls with questioning eyes, mischievous mice in hanging tree-houses, a beautiful girl riding a jagged alligator, butterflies, spaceships, teddy bears, caterpillars – we may never know exactly who these characters are, or why they are together, in jungles, on land, in water—but from one painting to the next, we want to know. Traditional Flemish paintings and contemporary illustrative artists working today influence Conrad. Iconic female figures dominate many of the paintings, representing either an antidote to a highly-confusing and mechanized world--or a catalyst to our weaknesses and urges. Conrad’s collision of old-world and new creates a primitive edge to bold, colorful paintings. Conrad Haberland was born in Maastricht, the Netherlands. He lived his teenage years in a working class section of Lowell, Massachusetts and moved to Los Angeles in 1989 where he currently lives with his wife Amy. Conrad played in various punk bands opening for Jim Carroll and The Pixies and traveled the world to see all the art he had only seen in books. From an early age, Conrad watched his father painting. Emulating his palette, he started drawing on anything he could get his hands on. His parents’ dual beliefs also had a profound effect on his work. His mother was devoutly Catholic with a strong belief in Indonesian folklore. She summoned a witch doctor for one of Conrad’s childhood illnesses. His father was a Zen Buddhist. Conrad’s artwork is Pop Surrealism and his unique brushwork is a result of hereditary tremors in his hands which he has learned to work with over the years.