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by Vanessa Conte
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Whether rendered in oil on canvas or sculpted from a pile of mashed potatoes, the artist's self-portrait is more telling than a mirror, and oftentimes more meaningful than its creator intends. The autobiographical paintings in this exhibition reveal the visions of four artists, letting us peek into their peculiar worlds.
Featuring the artists GG Kopilak, Roxa Smith and Susan Elmes. |
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GG Kopilak |
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GG Kopilak hides herself in the setups of her still-life compositions. Within the super-realistic renderings of fabric, glass, stone and paper are small depictions of the artist. Her careful attention to the detail and placement of each object emphasizes its significance. By incorporating her image, the artist makes a larger, more personal statement.
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In Grey Skies, a small profile of Kopilak, painted to look like an ancient Greek artifact, suggests her place in the history of art. Here, the artist separates the picture plane into two areas: the foreground, where selected objects sit on a shelf, and the vast gray sky that projects infinitely into space. Kopilak presents herself within this picture as a memento, a tiny shard of a grander whole.
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Grey Skies (1995)
GG Kopilak |
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Kopilak's reflection is more obscure in Self-portrait, where her image is blurred in the shiny surface of a wine goblet. Viewers have to become physically engaged with the work to see the image of the artist in her studio. This interplay between the artist, the artwork and the viewer is what generates meaning most powerfully in Kopliak's paintings. Grey Skies questions where the artist fits into the history of art and what role the artist plays in her work before, during, and after its making.
Sign the guestbook of GG Kopilak.
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Self-portrait (1980s)
GG Kopilak |
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Roxa Smith |
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Roxa Smith's frontal self-portraits are simultaneously aggressive and intimate, directly addressing the viewer with their forward-looking gaze and exaggerated personas. Through costume, color and scale, the artist focuses on aspects of personal identity in each work, addressing issues that range from sexuality to spirituality.
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The facial and bodily expression of the rosy-cheeked figure in My Body is one of conflicting sensuality and insecurity. Although she is wearing a revealing lace top, the woman's hands are hiding her purposefully enlarged abdomen. She "perceives her lower body to be huge and perhaps unattractive, but ironically, it is that which she must protect from unwanted sex." The abrupt change in scale evokes empathy for this apprehensive character, as if one were seeing his or her own distorted self-image.
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My Body (1994)
Roxa Smith |
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The androgynous figure in The Heart, surrounded by a striking pattern of primary color, holds a small treasure chest bearing the image of a pierced heart in her exaggerated, illuminated hand. It acts as "a symbol of the potential within us all to love." Smith has conceived a language of color, costume and scale that appeals to our senses, and she composes visual messages with universal symbols.
Sign the guestbook of Roxa Smith. |
The Heart (1994)
Roxa Smith |
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Susan Elmes |
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"Once inside the frame, the viewer often encounters me. Sometimes, I stare right at her, and other times I turn away. But in either case, I am vulnerable," writes Susan Elmes, a classically trained painter whose soft-edged, realistic self-portraits are made without pretense. When Elmes describes herself as "vulnerable," she implies that a still life composed of antique jewelry bears the same significance as a likeness of her face.
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When?, a narrative self-portrait, shows the artist literally "waiting for someone who was not coming back." With her face turned aside, waiting for something she knows will not happen, the artist presents herself in a moment of disappointment and loss.
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When? (1997)
Susan Elmes |
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Elmes' unguarded approach is most apparent in a work she describes as her first Self-portrait. The expression of the artist's face, composed and pensive, is telling of her forced concentration. "As you can see, I was quite intimidated by the task [of painting her own image]." Nevertheless, the artist assumes a familiarity with her audience that is welcoming. "I want to bring the viewer into my room and show her my world."
Sign the guestbook of Susan Elmes. |
Self-portrait (1995)
Susan Elmes |
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