Theresa Pfarr
Theresa Pfarr
Aritst Statement
Incidentally and anxiously, I discover and draw from the meanderings of the female image, as it addresses me. I treat the cultural, commercial and personal as one in my work, through a process of collecting, collaging and manipulating fashion and personal images into my paintings. Elements coexist in the paintings to describe the anxiety associated with inhabiting a medial self-consciousness. Edges disintegrate, limbs distort, paint melts into skin, and glances confront in discord.
Incidentally and anxiously, I discover and draw from the meanderings of the female image, as it addresses me. I treat the cultural, commercial and personal as one in my work, through a process of collecting, collaging and manipulating fashion and personal images into my paintings. Elements coexist in the paintings to describe the anxiety associated with inhabiting a medial self-consciousness. Edges disintegrate, limbs distort, paint melts into skin, and glances confront in discord.
I've developed these paintings through a process of studying and researching the narratives and conventions used in advertising, particularly those of the fashion industry. I work directly from fashion magazines, filing images by designer and then referencing them for narrative and semiotics. Through a collage process I manipulate the images to deflect their meaning and intention. I then paint from the collages. Identity loss and re-development is explored through this process.
I carry an incongruous collection of images in my mind as they stuff my mailbox, invade and clutter my space. I respond, answer, and react to their aggression through painting. Through the manipulation of surface texture and paint handling I'm working to convey a psychological and personal struggle in dealing with self-evaluation, appeal and the anxiety that drives consumption.
Bio
Theresa holds a MFA degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, a BFA from the University of Cincinnati and Post-Baccalaureate study from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After completing Post-Baccalaureate study she began exhibiting nationally in many group and solo shows, which include a solo exhibit at City Art Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and an international juried exhibit in Wakefield, Rhode Island at the Hera Gallery. Grants and awards include a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, a Puffin Foundation grant, a Roswell A-I-R program grant, a Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts residency, a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship, a Vermont Studio Center residency, and a Jentel residency. Her work is included in the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art and many private collections.
Bio
Theresa holds a MFA degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, a BFA from the University of Cincinnati and Post-Baccalaureate study from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After completing Post-Baccalaureate study she began exhibiting nationally in many group and solo shows, which include a solo exhibit at City Art Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and an international juried exhibit in Wakefield, Rhode Island at the Hera Gallery. Grants and awards include a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, a Puffin Foundation grant, a Roswell A-I-R program grant, a Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts residency, a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship, a Vermont Studio Center residency, and a Jentel residency. Her work is included in the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art and many private collections.