Kelli Thompson
My work explores the ways in which a woman’s body is often delineated into parts based on purpose and function. Pairing distinctly feminine anatomy with the sexual organs of flora, I explore aspects of my own physical existence as a woman. In separating parts of the female body and then isolating them, I point to the way in which treating the body based on definitive female functions often serves to define the woman as a whole. With this work, I intend to address the guilt, fear, anxiety, and profound unknown when confronted with the limitations of physicality. Recalling popular color palettes from my childhood, I create painted gradients on which to display my figures. Through the pristine level of finish in my subject matter, I am able to participate in the historical tradition of realistic portraiture and still-life painting, while the juxtaposition of these objects against abstracted formal elements situates them firmly in an artificial space. Using this combination of painting styles, I am able to both highlight and recontextualize realism.