2331 St. Claude Ave and Spain, New Orleans, LA 70113 • 504-525-2767 (6246) • Tues-Sat 11am-5pm • Directions
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2331 St. Claude Ave and Spain, New Orleans, LA 70113 • 504-525-2767 (6246) • Tues-Sat 11am-5pm • Directions |
| Jessica
Goldfinch ~ Crimes Against Faith and other tales of compulsion |
|
 (Alba Orientalis)China White Oil on Linen 10" x 12" 2011 |
 (Sanguinolenta Orientalis) Chinese Red Oil on Linen 10" x 12" 2012 |
 Dea Humana Copper and oil on panel 5" x 5" 2012 |
 From My Early Years Nothing But Misery oil on panel |
 This is What
is Destroying Us
oil on panel
5" x5", 2012
|
|
 Mother Russia mixed media |
 Father Lenin mixed media |
 Neon Argon mixed media on shrinky dink |
 New Orleans 1982 mixed media on shrinky dink |
 Death/Life mixed media on shrinky dink
4.5" x 4", 2012
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 Where 'Yat mixed media on shrinky dink |
 Church and State mixed media on shrinky dink |
 I Love Black Flag mixed media on shrinky dink |
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 Syrinx Flora: Long Stem fine silver with syringe |
 Syrinx Flora: Triptytch fine silver with syringe |
| Jessica Goldfinch Artist Statement In my art work I investigate mortality issues through the use of the uncanny. I fuse the familiar with the unfamiliar, the expected with the unexpected, and the traditional with the nontraditional in order to evoke an underlying uneasy feeling of tension—the same kind of feeling that results from the inconsistency in our cultural concepts concerning mortality, the Judeo-Christian beliefs about death, which include conflicting thoughts about dying being both a good thing (going to heaven) and a bad thing (becoming nothing.) This contradiction parallels the paradox of mortality: in order to have life, you must have death. I use traditional images of aesthetic beauty to draw the viewer in and create a comfortable feeling only to shatter that comfort with unexpected images of the reality of human frailty. My work is intended to remind the viewer that life is often not what it seems; reality is a façade, and just when you feel secure, life has a way of reminding you of its unpredictable nature. For example, a beautiful still life painting of flowers upon closer look is a composition infused with syringes and a palette of bruised coloration, thus simultaneously representing the allure and the peril of addiction. The works may illustrate the mystery and beauty of religion, but they are also intended to be ironic and secular — an attempt to humanize the concept of “god.” I purposely infuse depictions of the deformed with traditional images of the divine to deify and dignify the deformed while humanizing the deity. I may collapse many religions into one depiction to emphasize the similarities and the futility of fighting about the differences. Frequently, in my work I choose materials that play with this idea of the façade of reality. For instance, the velvety, painterly surfaces of my miniature works are made using Shrinky Dink, a plastic child’s toy. The moral is to beware, as things may not be what they seem; you must always look closely at life. I depict my subject matter seriously but also with humor and irony. For me this reflects life which is beautiful yet disturbing, joyful and tragic, sardonic and unpredictable. Although my work speaks of mortality, it is meant to be a reminder of the preciousness of life—a memento mori. |
