Betsy Stirratt: La Maladie
Patricia Biesen: Paper Doll Mastectomies
Concurrent
exhibitions of oil and gold leaf paintings by Betsy Stirratt and acrylic
works by Patricia Biesen will be on display at the International Museum of
Surgical Science in Chicago from November 8 - October 25, 2002. A reception
for the artists that is open and free to the public will take place on Friday,
November 8, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
These two contemporary artists produce striking works that honor
human mortality and the fragility of the body against disease.
In her exhibition titled “La Maladie,” Betsy Stirratt creates
precious-looking icons using detailed imagery of body parts placed on
gold leaf backdrops. Reminiscent of historic medical texts, the images
are beset with diseases, or uncover the mysteries of the inner workings
of the human body. The artist states that the work “is a statement
about our physical and spiritual mortality and refers to our revulsion
to illness, death and dying.”
Ms. Stirratt, a resident of Bloomington, Indiana, has received several arts awards including the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and has exhibited in both Chicago and Indiana on an on-going basis.
Patricia Biesen’s “Paper Doll Mastectomies” also relate to physical disease and loss, specifically to breast cancer. The shape of Biesen’s work calls to mind needlepoint pictures or old-fashioned silhouette portraits; while the paper doll cut-out look of the images convey a striking and immediate recognition of the so easily removed diseased breast. Much of the artist’s work indicates what’s missing in a way that seems both innocent and disturbing.
A resident of Chicago, Ms. Biesen has exhibited throughout the U.S.