We should have had ______.

We should have had ______.
Senior Art Exhibition

Jannotta Gallery
Smith College
December 12, 2016 – February 9, 2017

Works shown:
Sprawl (2016)

Artist Statement:

I describe my works as abstracted sculptural drawings. The multitude of marks, fashioned both two- and three-dimensionally, form a single mass—a raw and brawny, but delicate figure. In this particular piece, I used papier-mâché on a wire screen to create a relatively stable base (the “flesh” of the work), drew on top of it with charcoal and ink, and layered other paper drawings on top. The wooden dowels act as both the supporting structure and an integral part of the work, occasionally piercing through the “body” in a threatening way.

When creating, I am primarily interested in working with the physicality of paper. Paper is typically seen as a fragile, vulnerable material, and yet it can be surprisingly sturdy—especially when molded into a three-dimensional shape. Paper remembers every action it experiences—its ripples, creases, and wrinkles show a history of interaction between the artist and the material. All of the drawings layered on this work are either self-portraits or non-representational gestural drawings—they all represent me in one way or another. By using bits and pieces of myself I created a new, separate body that is more honest and unrefined. My almost excessive mark-making on the paper also generates an organic ruggedness that evokes nature and Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic.

Notable influences include Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, Anselm Kiefer, Lynda Benglis, Rachel Harrison, E. V. Day, and John Chamberlain.