Dreams, Memories, Light & Response
Repository
Description
My experiences, memories, dreams, and ideas are externalized and made lyrical
through my oil paintings on canvas. I respond to motifs and subjects from art history, and this
body of work is especially informed by the Baroque period and artists including Artemisia
Gentileschi. I want to offer possibilities for rethinking and responding to representations of
women. I look to vanitas themes as well to develop a personal symbology and express my
experience during the Covid pandemic. Additionally, I use dark visual humor to explore
complex human situations where tragedy meets absurdity. I search for expressions of the
figures and provocative colors that will betray the narrative suggested in the picture.
Although my paintings cover a range of genres—portraits of women, vanitas still life, and
contemporary scenes of daily life—I seek to connect my paintings through tension and
mystery to confront the viewer. My subjects are often personal, but I seek to widen the lens
for interpretation and create space in my paintings for viewers to construct their own
narratives.
Subjects
Administrative:
- Academic Department:
- MFA Drawing + Painting (MFADP)
- Collection:
- MFA Theses
Content:
- Artist/Author:
- Smith-Fatten, Kelly Jane
- Program:
- MFA Drawing Painting (MFADP)
- Program Type:
- MFA
Similar Subjects
