Gentlewomen

Artist Statement

I paint because I am a woman. My feminine body is born with both pain and pleasure built in. It matters that I, as a twenty-first century American woman, can sympathize with and meditate on the experiences of Ancient Near Eastern women. I can be intruded upon as Bathsheba was, or triumph with Jael, or choose to endure the pain of motherhood as Mary did. And, the lives of the Christian women and martyrs whose faith I have inherited, including Saint Agatha, can still provide hope for women of faith today. Where do my current hurts and triumphs echo theirs: and where can I give them space to breathe where their contemporaries and historical portrayals of these women could not? I utilize the classical form of the female nude to provide new insights into a painting tradition that has historically been dominated by the male gaze. To paint these narratives is to physically commit to wrestling with color, form, and line as a way to explore the simultaneous possibility of joy and of deep hurt that is ever present for women, in lives past, present, and those to come.

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See an exhibition proposal and complete list of works here.