Date of Submission

Spring 2024

Academic Program

Studio Arts

Project Advisor 1

Lothar Osterburg

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.

This show depicts various people and places from my life and dreams. Thus, the actual process of how I recall my dreams informed how I approached making this body of work. In my paintings, instead of focusing on realism, I tried to describe the subject matter depending if “I” was telling the story from the subject's point of view and feeling their emotion, or whether I was watching a scene from the outside. To depict those perspectives, I spent varying amounts of time in different areas to curate awareness to what the viewer might notice. Additionally, I implemented assorted types of brush strokes as well as materials, to describe how I felt about the content itself. Many of these paintings are about introspection, with the human figure having a lot of abstract detail and attention paid to it.

Often, when I wonder about how others see things, in my head I secretly ask, “What do you love?” and secondly “Is it easy?”. When interacting with other people, I feel like there is tension in physical space, with what we show and keep hidden. The characters in my paintings are a part of expressing that tension. The tension of being moved by the structure and context that builds up who we are. To want to participate, but also feeling alone and trapped by it.

Artist movements and people that are important to this work are Post-Impressionism, women of Surrealism, and calligraphers Wang Dongling and Qiu Zhijie. Additionally, I am inspired by art that has served a religious or tradition based purpose. This is because craft, and in a lot of instances religion based work, shines light on how people of a specific time and place were living more fully than an “unbiased” source. Although I might not agree with the full view of each maker, seeing how something is made, what it is made of and the perspective of the maker helps me to learn about a time period. Therefore, I look to architecture, religious and decorative arts for reference shapes and colors to incorporate into my own vocabulary. I use this imagery because I find comfort in past perspectives and thoughts on timeless concepts such as love, death, change, seasonal plants, favorite things, sex, gender-roles, the weather, and what to do about time passing.

The show title, Not Too Pink and Not Too Blue, is a reference to the heavy application of Ultramarine and other blues as well as the slew of pinks I have used in my work. The blues carry water based imagery, or subconscious thought, and pink is a unifying color. Pink fills the space between things and lifts them up within the context of the bigger picture. This combination symbolizes for me the power of art. Artwork and stories give you advice, things to think about, and new things to love. We make art to reveal how we will do this in the future, while looking back at the past.

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