GRAD SCHOOL
Spring Semester, 2023:
I've begun creating forms that emulate the asymmetry and maturalistic ornamentation that was so prevalent during the Rococo era. I use low-grade hobbyist materials like glitter paint, canvas, and plaster to mimic the opulence of the ruling class. My new work confronts the division between painting and frame as a metaphor for the division between fine art, decorative art, and craft.
Fall Semester, 2022
I've focused on deconstructing paintings as a way to interrogate the traditional notion of painting through the manipulation of imagery, substrates, and frames. I wanted to parody qualities of a painting that are most undesirable – a warped frame and a loose canvas – calling attention to the “objectness” of a painting, which is often overlooked in favor of the image it conveys.
I learned how to steam bend wood and I used that technique on the stretcher bars of old paintings. I created a variety of wood armatures this way and investigated formats for exhibiting canvas from them. The final wall installations that I created are modular and can be adjusted to fit different venues.
I'm also curious about Fragonard's popular painting, "The Swing" and tried to emulate its gestures and visual decadence. The layers of petticoats led me to cut up my paintings and sew them into organic forms representing body parts and/or landscapes.
I often incorporate flowers into my work because of their associations with femininity, purity, beauty, and decorum. By converting floral paintings into soft sculpture forms, I aim to be hyperbolic and visually aggressive with their presentation, sometimes confrontational, unexpected, and absurd.
Fall 2021, Spring 2022:
Delving into European art history and particularly the 17th Century Dutch Flower paintings. I made several personal narratives that referenced famous works of art as a way of reframing the inherent patriarchal gaze over landscapes and women's bodies.
