Samantha Brinkley
"Dirty Nails, Dirty Teeth"
Inkjet print, 11x17", $100
This photo is from the early iterations of my senior project back in college, titled Barely Legal. The initial stages of the project were an exploration into female ugliness, and a push back against what I saw as the trending representations of women portraits in photography at the time: that being, beautiful girls in floral environments. I wanted to embrace all of womanhood, including the ugly parts. The project eventually changed but I still believe in the sentiment of allowing women and girls to be appreciated not just at their most beautiful and faux natural, but truly natural, the good, the bad, and the dirty.
instagram: @samibrinkley
website: https://samanthabrinkley.myportfolio.com/
Mariana Cicerchia
Self Portrait
Oil pastel on paper. 18x24in. $1000
This piece examines the contention and animosity between the female form and society, using language that transcends time and space. A coded language of color and shapes that examine themes of tribalism and otherness. And underneath that, a secret quiet language that ponders what it means to be a woman in this world. What it means to be a woman in a world she is not from. What it means to be a solitary woman. An outsider.
"Self Portrait" is an exploration of the vast landscape of isolation, that space outside the bounds of society where loneliness and freedom intersect. The place of becoming. Endless becoming. Without the confines of culture or tribe. The ability to die and recreate yourself over and over again, because you are anonymous. Invisible maybe.
Ecka Blaire Faulds
Untitled
Oil pastel on paper, 9.5 x 13.5 inches, $1,000
Female figure finds freedom swimming in cool lake waters. As they float, their form distorts and melds so that they become visually and physically a part of their environment.
eckablaire.com
@ecka-blaire.bsky.social (Bluesky)
@ecka_blaire (Instagram)
Jeni Follman
Adon M.
Oil on wood panel-24 x 24”-$5,800.00
Adon M. is a painting that has a double meaning in Hebrew. Adon is the Hebrew word for Mister when addressing a man of higher status. This work is about masculine beauty, about making the tenants of gender, class status, and human perception something to ponder and explore. In particular, how universally we are often preprogrammed by cultural norms and socially constructed attitudes regarding appearance and accepted attractiveness.
Susan Grabel
Venus Emerging [VE001]
Handmade cast paper, h20in w14in d10in, $1200
In the late 1990’s, I was particularly concerned about the lack of positive images of older women in our youth-oriented culture and how the media constantly bombards women of all ages with images of femaleness that bear no relation to what they see in the mirror. I began to explore the reality of the older woman’s body, bringing to the fore what we don’t want to see. The body is not idealized, but shown as it is, with all its wrinkles, lumps and bumps, imprinted with life’s experiences, its pains and joys,
Through classical references and the use of handmade cast paper with its rich textures, colors and lightness, I show the beauty of the aging woman’s body as well as its sensuality, grace and vulnerability. Using the aging woman’s body as just another sculptural form, I normalize it, confronting the conventional biases about aging women and validating women’s experiences of themselves.
www.susangrabel.com IG @susan_grabel
Zesska Harder
Every Body is Beautiful
Acrylic paint on leather, 24in X 30in, $4,000
This piece reclaimed beauty for all. Our bodies change throughout our lives. We get bigger smaller: pregnant, breastfeeding, get wrinkles, we lose muscle.
aging muscle, we gel saggy, we lose things like vision.
hearing and hair, and we gain things like weight. strange bumps, and hair in odd places. If we have the pleasure of living to old age many of these thungs are inevitable. The world we live in does not include these body changes in its narrow definition of beauty.
This jacket chooses to see these changes as beautiful.
A postpartum body with its saggy stomach and leaky breast is a powerful force that has brought life into this world. A body covered in wrinkles has gained wisdom and experience. A body that has gained weight has experienced the pleasure of food. These moments of strength. experience, knowledge, and pleasure should be celebrated and their beauty should be recognized.
Zesska_harder
Jee Hwang
Blooming Silhouette
Collage and paper cutting, 12.5"x 9" Price: NFS
This series incorporates cutouts of female bodies from contemporary pornographic magazines. Appropriated from the shapes and composition of Margaret Haverman's A Vase of Flowers, the collages reimagine the vase through these provocative cutouts. This reconstruction examines composition, negative space, and the interplay of varied flesh tones, probing how human desire shapes artistic form, process, and materiality. By critiquing the ongoing commodification and objectification of women's bodies in modern society, the work draws parallels between historical and contemporary notions of desire, wealth, and social status.
Betsy Jacks
Apple Tree 12
Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in., $595
My work during the last decade is sourced from trees, both those depicted by the 19th-century artist Thomas Cole, whose home in Catskill was my place of work for the last 21 years, and evocative apple trees in old orchards in the Hudson Valley. The trees serve as vessels for the viewer’s assumptions about age, beauty, knowledge and worth in order to explore those norms and beliefs. In my experience, both in museums and in the studio, tree-based imagery has the potential to bypass our learned cultural and societal biases and expose those biases to ourselves. Some of my trunks and branches probe the rules that govern women's bodies and the shame that is heaped on us for the shapes and orifices we are born with. Others provoke questions about our society's disregard for old age and disgust at aging skin. I am irresistibly drawn to apple trees because they are cracked but strong, ancient but still blooming, naked and accepted as they are. Their branches are muscular and capable of a tremendous profusion of life, beauty and fruit. With this body of work, I hope to provoke a new consideration and valuation of women throughout their lives.
www.betsyjacks.com @betsy_jacks
Erin Juliana
Viscera
Fabric, poly-fil, and wire, 6x8x2", $475
I create paintings, weavings, and sculptures that portray organic forms, interconnected fibers, and geometric structures. I’m interested in the opposition of two divergent forces, specifically how the structure of the grid and the fluidity of textiles are a metaphor for the imperfect nature of the human body. These concepts are derived from my own experience with spinal deformity, and my fascination with the history of symmetry in decorative arts. Creating work through this lens has allowed me to connect my interests in ornamentation and the tension between the natural and man-made that exists within my own body.
My process begins with drawing and watercolor painting before turning an image into something more structured and systematic. My sculptures are informed by my painting background and serve as abstracted self-portraits that play with ambiguity and enticement. I use materials and imagery metaphorically, from combining soft fibers with rigid metal wire to portraying the coexisting dualities of sinuous curves supported by lattice. My work explores the potential of creating new forms through combining contrasting elements.
www.erinjuliana.com
instagram @erinjuliana.art
Sara Kohrt
Love, Mother
Photo on metal, 20x30
Bodies often blind us. Art can serve as a mirror for people to use to identify not only themselves as patient, but also as healer. The idea of women's bodies being a focal point in society isn't novel, and it's possible the edge of the conversation has been so thoroughly smoothed over that any response has been reduced to something sterile and automatic.This body of work was meant to approach from a different angle - to look at parts of bodies described as acceptable and beautiful and which shouldn't be removed from social norm and media standards, but have thus far failed to be integrated. Without integration, they become spectacular, unaccepted parts of ourselves, and remain relegated to exhibit-level attention.
www.sarakohrt.com
IG: @westwood_studio_arts
Janelle Krause
Bette
Oil and interference powder on canvas, 11"x14", $35
Since the repeal of Roe v. Wade, I've been thinking about what going back to "the good old days" actually means. During this time, women's rights were restricted, and the norms we were presented with through movies, television, and advertising were that of a subservient, submissive beauty, who only existed withing certain parameters. What we have now is a nostalgic, but distorted view of these women- unable to voice their realities and histories- only able to view their lives and experiences through the screen.
Janelle.krause@outlook.com
Anika Nitia
The Unconventional Bride
The traditional color worn by a Bengali bride is red. The story behind the bride in blue is about ending my toxic relationship with my community's traditional mindset. It is about loving your Self and putting Self first, without any dictation from others on what is 'right' and 'proper'. The vibrant parts of Bengali culture and tradition still exist in the background.
anikaraza7@gmail.com
Instagram: @anika.aesthete
Christie Rose
And honestly, I feel the same
Acrylic on canvas, 36x36'', $4,700
When viewers see Christie’s body of work, they are immediately reminded of Pop art. However, Pop art focuses on icons that anyone can identify, while Christie’s work includes references that only those closest to her might recognize. Her use of vibrant colors contrasts with a dark, and humorous perspective, reflecting the challenges she has navigated in her life. Unlike the mass-produced pop art of the 1960s, which perpetuated a cycle of want and waste, Christie’s recent large-scale paintings are crafted with great attention to detail. Although Christie has created many of these large-scale paintings over the past few years, she does not have her own factory. Instead, she spends hours meticulously planning and placing each individual dot with intention. Christie aims for her audience to connect with her work on an intimate level, appreciating the meticulous effort and personal narrative embedded in each piece, even if the specific context remains unknown.
wild.rose.arts
Kathy Santen
Pretty / Smart
Mixed media assemblage with vintage and salvaged items, , 10" x 8" x 1.75", $165.00
I've always been drawn to the used, the discarded, the once-loved. When I found this mirror with its lovely patina, I thought of the "female gaze"--both as a refection of self and also how women see each other. The central figure does a joyous leap celebrating her perfect imperfections as another woman looks on with admiration. Rhinestones and industrial schematics complete the story of this unique beauty.
@sayitwithsalvage
Maxine Simko
Shared Sorrow
Ceramic, 5x2.75x2.25, $100
My ceramic works draw from experiencing life in my body, creating feminine functional ware. Melding the frivolity of beauty with the mundanity of function. I use this medium to circumvent the learned need for women to find flaws, to hide, to feel shame. Incorporating figures that depict the supposed negative aspects reroutes perception. An everyday object, fit for daily use, provides the consistency of affirmations that ingrain an idea into one’s beliefs. Instead of changing my body to fit the ideal, I solidify myself as the ideal with each piece I make in my own image.
Kat Spontak
hysteria
Digital photography, 18x24in, $600
Kat Spontak is a self taught self portrait photographer and mixed media artist living and working in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her work is a glimpse into the weird and wonderful mind of the artist; and seeks to explore the dark and the magical on a journey to discover what life is about.
Laura Teste
Grounded
Cast Bronze with Granite Base, 4 x 3 x 14 inches, $2,000
GROUNDED is a meditation piece. The dancer physically and mentally folds into herself. The stretching of the figure’s hamstrings pairs with the stretching of self-awareness. She is well-grounded in her own serenity, brevity, and destiny. The grace of the figure symbolizes acceptance, resilience, and strength - encouraging viewers to embrace their own imperfections.
www.LauraTeste.com
https://www.instagram.com/lauratestestudios/
Katharine Torgersen
Self Portrait
Photography, 16"x20", $165
Society has drilled into my mind that my worth (our worth, as women) is so deeply connected to youth. As I see and feel myself age, I struggle – physically, mentally, emotionally – to deal with this and feel myself fading away into the shadows.
https://www.instagram.com/katetorg/ www.katetorg.com
Patricia Van Tassel
Shimmering Light of an Angel
Oil on Masonite- 22"X26.5"- $3,000.00
Look for beauty in all things, every day.
Keely Wu
Those Queer Feelings
Oil paint on canvas, 36x36 inches, $1,000
Three androgynous figures grace a couch amidst an ambiguous realm. Laden with symbolic artifacts the painting invites reflection on queer experience and expression.
https://www.keelywu.com/
instagram: @kwu_art