a m e rican artist
Maria Risner
painting
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
My research in studio art has
been an investigation in capturing
and expressing the psychological and
emotional conditions of people like
pain, grief, and distress. In the past, my
subject matter has consisted of artwork
specifically based on psychological
disorders, and the symptoms of those
illnesses. Although the research for my
most recent paintings also focuses on
psychology, the content now centers
on the repulsion and discomfort a
female can experience within her mind
and body.
These paintings are meant to be
exaggerations of grotesque bodily
features, which would be considered
undesirable within our society and
culture. These features include weight
(both large and small), skin tone
(discoloration), skin texture (wrinkles),
and also body hair. The research is
intended to depict the emotions of how
a woman might view herself, through an
abject point of view, opposed to an
actual depiction of the female form.
This artwork is intended to reveal the
complexity of the mind, and is meant
to attract and repulse the viewer
using both beautiful and undesirable
formal elements.
Although oil paint is still used within
this research, the primary medium I use
to create these paintings is encaustic
wax, which is a combination of
bleached and purified beeswax and
gum damar. Sheer fabrics along with
plaster casts are also used to create
the human forms, and a layer of the
encaustic wax is applied on top of
these forms. The wax functions very
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much like flesh, and has a translucent
and luminous effect when applied in
layers.
This theme interests me on a
personal level because I feel that
everyone can relate to having some
kind of insecurity with his or her own
body. In today’s society, an unhealthy
emphasis is placed on achieving the
perfect figure and the ideal of what
the public thinks we should be. Within
this research, I try to capture an
unpleasant and undesired depiction
of flesh, to reflect unease, and evoke
an emotion of discomfort within the
viewer.
Extraction of the Body
Mixed Media, 24”x30”, Not for Sale
These pieces are part of my
series titled “Melancholy Bodies.”
Dissection of the Body
The content of this work centers
Mixed Media, 24”x30”, Not for Sale
on the repulsion and discomfort a
female can ex