This month, I’m excited to debut work in a duo exhibition with Rose Jaffe at the Mansion at Strathmore. The work I’m including spans nearly two years. It traces an evolution from representational painting towards abstraction and brand new sculptural work. While varied in form, the show is organized around feminist interests and organic lines that are prominent in my work as well as Rose’s.
Traditionally, the female nude in art is represented as an object of beauty. My work in BLUSH explores the body from a feminist perspective – probing internal experiences of sensation and desire and external experiences of movement and balance.
Color entices sensation, heightens emotion and attracts. In BLUSH, I explore the power and associations of pinks and reds. I subvert the decorative aspect of color through work that is inventive and disordered, testing the boundary between attraction and revulsion.
This work is influenced by dance, which I have experienced as healing; moving brings agency to our bodies. It’s also inspired by the patterns seen in nature, from spiders’ webs to the intricate spine of a leaf. In contrast to constructed societal gender norms, I explore the body as a part of nature – a force that’s beyond control or understanding – a fluid force of growth and change.
This work includes my first foray into using fabric and wool. Felting, in particular, has been slow and laborious. Through this process, I’ve followed in the footsteps of artists like Louise Bourgeois and Lynda Benglis who reference sexuality through their choice of materials and question the opposition between art and craft.
I think all artists seek to evolve. I know this goal was top of mind when I made the decision to pursue my MFA last year. Having the chance to connect and share space with artists like Rose Jaffe helps inspire that evolution, and I’m grateful for the opportunity – and pumped for the show!
BLUSH opens Sunday, June 11 and runs through August 6. Learn more >
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