 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
| |
I render the figure in stoneware sculptures and oil paintings on panel and canvas. My work frequently depicts corpulent, middle-aged, female nudes that are loosely based on my own mother. Because I am interested in the body-to-body interaction of work and viewer, scale is an important issue. The sculptures range from small maquettes to life-size forms, and I use both small and large panels to paint bust-length portraits or entire figures. I often adorn my female subjects with attributes of regal status or cultural symbols of power, such as a beaded headdress or a crook and flail. Given these signifiers, my figures may be read as idealized icons experiencing the aging process, women with unrealistic aspirations, or simply overweight female nudes in costume. All interpretations explore the connections between beauty and power, and hopefully prompt a reevaluation of a female body type that is typically ignored or dismissed.
Growing up in Israel and the United States, I witnessed my mother’s thwarted aspirations and dissatisfaction with her physical appearance, and this experience has led me to explore her body type in sculptures and paintings. Despite this biographical source for my work, I am not attempting to reenact my mother’s specific situation or psychological state. I am instead concerned with a more generalized female figure and its proposed role in society.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
