Mary Borgman

Portrait of Justin Shanitkvich

2017

Mary Borgman’s work captivates the viewer in several ways. First is their scale. They hang like medieval tapestries, with figures standing as tall as eight feet. There is also their texture – created by using charcoal on Mylar, and the results are richly gestural, with distinct charcoal strokes and eraser marks animating the figure and ground alike. With a flat surface, she creates volume and life. And perhaps the most powerful of all, the viewer is caught be the gazes of the models, who stare forcefully out of the picture. They seem to be examining us every bit as much as we are examining them. These larger-than-life portraits stem from chance encounters that grow into meaningful connections between the artist and her subject. Most are strangers that she approaches on the street. They capture her attention with expressive eyes that show experience and wisdom, distinctive shapes and a casual body language. “I try to honor the people I am drawing by centering them in the format and shooting from slightly below their eye level. I choose an expression that exudes intelligence, self-awareness and complexity. I try to convey their humanness. I want the viewer to feel this person might be someone interesting to know”, says Borgman of her subjects. The intensity with which she conveys the eyes may stem from her many years of communicating in sign language, which is based on sustained eye contact. Borgman loves the directness of drawing. It is immediate, there is no lag time. There is no time waiting for the paint to dry. She works solely in charcoal which she can manipulate to achieve varying degrees of darkness and opacity. It is messy and the artist loves that. Mary Borgman Portrait of Justin Shanitkvich, 2022 charcoal on mylar 53h x 40w in 134.62h x 101.60w cm MBG009 [This work is custom framed in shadow box style with non-reflective Tru-Vue Museum Glass] FRAMED DIMENSIONS 55.25h x 42.50w x 2.25d in 140.34h x 107.95w x 5.71d cm Mary Borgman b. October 4, 1959 St. Louis, MO SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2017 Grand Opening: Coming Attractions, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2013 SOFA Chicago 2013, Ann Nathan Gallery, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge, National Portrait Gallery, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR 2012 Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge, National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C. SOFA Chicago 2012, Ann Nathan Gallery, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL SOFA NY, Ann Nathan Gallery, New York, NY 2011 Gallery Group Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL SOFA NY, Ann Nathan Gallery, New York, NY 2010 SOFA Chicago 2010: Special Installation at SOFA Café, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL What’s the Buzz on the Playground: Art of Today from St. Louis curated by Mary Sprague...

A study for a series of larger paintings based on motion capture studios, this painting combines classic technique with modern sensibility. Here the seated model leans against an antiquated iMac. Upon closer examination, the preparatory sketch lines are visible on the model's feet and her forearm. Unfinished works were first seen during the Renaissance with Masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Donatello. It became fashionable to leave works incomplete, so much so, that it became an aesthetic term 'non-finito'. Andrew S. Conklin Kelsey Seated, Arm with iMac oil on panel 12h x 17w in 30.48h x 43.18w cm ACK011 Motion Capture Paintings, Chicago My recent painting series describes the reality of motion capture environments by showing the interplay between female athletes and male technicians. These paintings are meant to explore conventions of female representation in Western figurative art and to contrast this past practice with the contemporary imagery of that subject via computer-based image technology. This project was instigated by a number of things: first, by my abiding interest in depicting the human form in paint, as I find its versatility in a design, its invitation to empathy, and its difficulty, to be something worth attempting to depict with success. In addition, my curiosity regarding the new ways to depict the form using electronic technology seem to challenge to the traditional methods I rely upon, and I wanted to comment on the similarities and differences between the studios of the painters and the technicians. In this way, I aim to continue my investigation into what I see as the contrasting quality of human nature, and symbolically represent opposites such as mind and body, analog and digital, realism and idealism, terrestrial and the transcendent. Andrew S. Conklin is a figurative painter. He holds an MFA from the Academy of Art University, and studied painting at the National Academy of Design in New York City with Harvey Dinnerstein...

This is a beautiful Ink on Mylar by Alexis Portilla, unframed. Hematite is a mineral and is the most important component of iron. In nature, it has a beau...

Acrylic, interior latex, spray paint, charcoal, oil pastel and oil stick on used drop cloth