My Pleasure (Forever Yours), May 2018
Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa
My Pleasure (Forever Yours) is an exhibition of paintings and ceramic sculptures that recalls memories of my family’s immigration to the US from the Soviet Union, my relationship with my aunt who suffered from cancer, and the movie Pretty Woman. As a child, I watched Pretty Woman incessantly with my aunt, as she used the movie to learn English upon moving to the US and I began to learn about American culture and female identity. Within the exhibition, I make reference to fantasy and desire, as well as the finite and temporary state of the body, as I think about my aunt’s dentures and wigs. I attempt to make sense of both fear and desire at once through the medium of illusionistic monumental painting and glazed ceramic. Furthermore, protagonist Vivian who works as a sex worker can be compared to the subject of famous controversial works such as Manet’s Olympia, calling into question the distinction between high and low in art and which subject matters are appropriate in the fine arts.
Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa
My Pleasure (Forever Yours) is an exhibition of paintings and ceramic sculptures that recalls memories of my family’s immigration to the US from the Soviet Union, my relationship with my aunt who suffered from cancer, and the movie Pretty Woman. As a child, I watched Pretty Woman incessantly with my aunt, as she used the movie to learn English upon moving to the US and I began to learn about American culture and female identity. Within the exhibition, I make reference to fantasy and desire, as well as the finite and temporary state of the body, as I think about my aunt’s dentures and wigs. I attempt to make sense of both fear and desire at once through the medium of illusionistic monumental painting and glazed ceramic. Furthermore, protagonist Vivian who works as a sex worker can be compared to the subject of famous controversial works such as Manet’s Olympia, calling into question the distinction between high and low in art and which subject matters are appropriate in the fine arts.
