PAINTBRUSH PORTRAITS (selections)

Ongoing Series (1999-present)
These works play with notions of re-forming beauty and value. I use humble, end of life materials inspired by my past experience as a faux finisher and Diego Velazquez’s 17th century painting Las Meninas. The paintbrush is self-referential, acting as both subject and object. It refers to the history of painting, through the medium of paint, using its own tool. These lady-like portraits are a playful strategy I use to draw the viewer into a more refined conversation about the nature of the work - in slowing down and observing the ordinary, however small, the most profound things are discovered.

The slow and repetitive pace of whittling allows me time to reflect more directly on the idiosyncrasies of each individual brush in relation to the entanglement of thoughts related to gender, class structures, and invisible labor. The action of whittling serves as a metaphor for reducing something to its core value or essence. These works pay homage to a sensibility and vitality found in the Old Masters’ works.

These are a selection of works from a larger body of work. The first two editions dealt solely with art history. My third series of Paintbrush Portraits highlighted lost, obscure and powerful stories of women across history and geography. The more recent ones have taken on a less narrative slant towards a more mediated translation of conceptual interests.