Watercolor on paper

2020

Artmaking is innately vulnerable. The viewer and artist exchange in a highly intimate and trusting act with one another. In my practice, I initiate the viewer in conversation with the abject--those things from which we derive shame, pleasure, discomfort, and confusion. My paintings express the vulnerability of the body, the dynamics of vulnerability between people, the way vulnerability can sometimes become a source of power. These concepts manifest in my work as they relate to women and female sexuality. Western art has been dominated by a singular voice for the past several centuries. While the female body is common in art, the female voice is often stifled. The human figure, both female and male, reflects taboos and how self-imposed proscriptions manifest or conceal themselves in our interactions. My paintings place the viewer in the position of voyeur, while the paintings act as exhibitionists. Man-made objects act as stand-ins for the figure as well, indicating a human presence in the absence of a body. Through painting, I explore the manifestations of a gendered society through a feminine perspective. I hope to highlight hypocrisy within gender constructs and projected sexuality to create a more holistic view of the feminine. The gap between inner self and outer presentation, physical and emotional, invites contemplation of the performance of being.

Department of Fine Arts, Studio Arts, Painting