UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls
Reception: Thursday, January 25, 5:00–7:30 pm
Reception: Monday, March 11, 3:00–4:00 pm
Reception: Friday, April 26, 4:00–8:00 pm
The characters in my figurative paintings interface with ambiguous social, bodily, and environmental happenings as a metaphor for the ways we navigate our tenuous contemporary moment. Dr. Blasey-Ford's courageous testimony and the #MeToo movement fueled my bravery in making paintings about my survivorship. I ask questions about the impact of gender performance and trauma on relationships, selfhood, and experiences of space. In this series, women react to an apocalyptic turn of events—the sky is often in the process of turning an unnatural shade of pink, and characters reveal ominous magenta wounds. Characters prepare for wanted or unwanted changes, real or imagined threats, and sufficient or insufficient resolutions in an uncertain future. Within and between groups, responses to environmental forces vary, creating either tension or solidarity. My work grapples with the roles figures play actively or inactively, together or divided, in both contributing to and addressing internal and external crises. My painted environments are densely layered, using visual patterns to reference cyclical patterns of thought and normative behavior that are laced into our perceived realities. These patterns are interwoven with direct and indirect social pressures, impacting both body and mind. As I move through and react to the world around me as a queer woman and survivor, I feel myself both bend to and resist pressures for gender performance. Multiple self-portraits in these paintings behave as different characters to embody the inner conflicts in my quest to hold on to agency, authentic voice, and community. Sometimes, imminent destruction feels certain, and other times, watching the women and queer people around me remain critical, brave, empathetic, and inventive in the face of ongoing threats assures me of our communal potential. These paintings envision space for problem-solving, collaboration, and resistance in turbulent shared environments.
Graduating Bachelor's of Fine Art candidates will showcase their thesis projects.
Mark your calendar for the annual scholarship sale which directly supports Art department scholarships. Contact us if interested in participating, donating artwork, or making a monetary donation.
Gallery 101
Main Lobby, Kleinpell Fine Arts
420 East Cascade St., River Falls
Monday–Thursday, TBD
Friday, TBD
The gallery schedule is subject to change.
Information: 715-425-3266