Mimi Pinnow
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Dancer With the Jewelry Drawer
2019
oil on canvas
48"X72"
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Lock of Hair
2019
Oil paint on Panel
12"X16"
Statement
Through my paintings I invite the viewer to place their perception into a world of objects. Here we can let go of the unstable cultural structures we have adopted to find protection from the world at large. In letting go we can find beauty in the nuance of object becomings and turn to find that in the overlooked qualities of each other. My paintings feature feminine objects, heirlooms, and spaces that have a life of their own. I collect objects that have accumulated generational histories and that have lived in numerous homes. Sweeps of transparent paint create light sources that illuminate the objects, suspending them in moments of meditation. While I work from observation, I translate the objects from my perception to the painting.This reveals dialogs of shadows and chromatic pairings that existed between the world of the source objects, but were highlighted through painting. Painting these rhyming forms and associations, allows me to build the structure of a hand-held world. The different viscosities of the paint allow the objects to come forward and recede. This opens the door for the viewer to enter the world of the painting, past a perspectival illusion of depth, into a place where they can picture picking up the objects, handling them, and returning them to their atmospheric home. The viewer is given permission to find their own magic, similar to that of a child. In the solitary viewing experience of the painting they may discover small imaginative worlds and objects imbued with life.These worlds reveal themselves through patient looking. They arrange islands of stability in addition to providing spaces where we can negotiate with different parts of ourselves and our relationships with others.
LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting (MFA) Students