Alchemical Bride

This body of work renews the language of painting with Feminist élan vital. In the Alchemical Bride series, I occupy formal aspects from Cubism, blending them with Pop Art, Surrealism, and Feminist historicism to create a new language that I call Cubism 3.0. 

My paintings enrich painting with the mythical language of alchemy by centralizing the bride as the source of meaning.  Here the bride embodies Carl Jung’s interpretation of alchemy as a metaphor for the individuation towards the Self. Alchemists called the furnaces in which base matter was transmuted into gold the “House of the Chick” and the “womb”. This play of words intrigues me, as it situates the act of transformation within the human form. In the midst of the #MeToo movement, it seems critical for me to celebrate the elevated female body, imagining the liminal body of the bride as a site of distortion and transformation. Reimagining the female form and its historic erasure as the actual source of value and meaning in painting and in life, brush-stroke by brush-stroke.

I began by cutting out over 1000 bridal images from magazines. These I distress and distort using mirrors, reflections, and collaged materials. I set these alchemical experiments up in the studio and paint. Each is a liminal imago– dissolving and coming into focus all at once.

Dreaming the Bride Catalog (free download)

Oil and Acrylic Paintings

The Bride Stripped Bare 1 (Artemisia Gentileschi) 2022 72″ x 70″
The Bride Stripped Bare 2 (Ljubov Popova) 2022 40″ x 30″
The Bride Stripped Bare 3 (Paula Modersohn-Becker) 2022 30″ x 40″
The Bride Stripped Bare 4 2022 42″ x 36″
Alchemical Bride 112 (Lavinia Fontana) 2022 22″ x 30″
Alchemical 110 (Leonora Carrington) 36” x 48” 2022
Alchemical Bride 106 (Dolores Porras) 36″ x 48″ 2021
Alchemical Bride 104 (Maria Martinez) 24″ x 16″ 2021
Alchemicl 101 (Clara Ledesma) 36″ x 20″ 2021
Alchemical Bride 103 (Teresa Burga) 20” x 16″ 2021
Alchemical Bride 102 (Clemencia Lucena) 36″ x 20″ 2021
Alchemical Bride 101 (Sarah Mapps Douglass) 22″x 22″ 2021
Alchemical Bride 100 (Frida Khalo) 2021 22″x 22″
Alchemical 99 (Hilda af Klint) 22″x 22″ 2021
Alchemical Bride 98 (Agnes Martin) 2021 28″ x 22″
Alchemical Bride 97 (Luz Donoso) 28″ x 22″ 2021
Alchemical Bride 88 (Luchita Hurtado) 2021 42”x34”
Alchemical Bride 87 (Helena of Egypt) 2021 36″ x 48”
Alchemical Bride 86 (Shin Saimdang) 2021 36”x30”
Alchemical Bride 65 (Stefania and Helena Podgórska) 2020 30”x48”
Alchemical Bride 66(Martine Bertereau) 2020 36”x48”
Alchemical Bride 60 (Jane Jacobs, Norma Sklarek, Zaha Hadid) 2020 36″ x 70″
Alchemical Bride 61 (Lady Bird Johnson) 2020 36” x 70”
Alchemical Bride gallery view
Tatiana Garmendia Alchemical Bride 67 (Maria Victoria de la Cruz) 2020 36” x 60”.
Alchemical Bride 68 (Sophie Germain) 2020 40” x 30”.
Alchemical Bride 63 (Ana Mendieta} 2020 35″ x 54″
Alchemical Bride gallery view
Alchemical Bride 64 (Vera Rubin) 2020 44” x 24”
Alchemical Bride 69 (Emmeline Panhurst) 2020 24” x 48”.
Alchemical Bride 71 (Amazon Ladies Brigade) 2020 36” x 60”
Alchemical Bride 48 (Berta Caceres) 2020
oils on canvas 48″ x 36″
Alchemical Bride 70 (Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin 2020 oils on canvas 48”x 36”
gallery view
Bride 40 (Hedy Lamarr) 2020
oils on canvas 36” x 40”
Alchemical Bride 48 (Las Mariposas) 2020 diptych- oils on canvas 20″ x 32″
Alchemical Bride 3 (Aglaonice) 2019
30” x 40” oils on canvas
Alchemical Bride 28 (Valada) 2019
oils on canvas 42” x 68”
Princess Bride, 2019
oils on canvas 36” x 24”
Alchemical Bride gallery view
Alchemical Bride 34 (Agnodice), 2019
oils on canvas 36″ x 42″
Alchemical Bride 23 (Queen Puabi) 2019
Oils on canvas 42” x 40”
Alchemical Bride 24 (Sojourner Truth) 2019 oils on canvas 48” x 41”
Alchemical Bride 14 (Miriam HaYehuda) 2019 oil on canvas 48” x 24”
Alchemical Bride 8 (Agrippina) 2019
oil on canvas 12” x 12”
Alchemical Bride 12 (Baranamtarra) 2019
oils on canvas 36” x 24”
Alchemical Bride 11 (Theoclea) 2019
oil on canvas 20” x 16”
Alchemical Bride 9 (Thalestris) 2019
oils on canvas 12” x 12”
Alchemical Bride 10 (Shibtu) 2019
oils on canvas 12” x 12”
Alchemical Bride 4 (Marie Curie) 2019
oils on canvas 20″ x 22″
Alchemical Bride 13 (Marie Meudrac) 2019
oils and metal leaf on canvas 20” x 16″
Alchemical Bride 33 (Celia Cruz) 2019
oil on clayboard 24″ x 18″
Alchemical Bride 2 (Judith) 2019
oils on board 8″ x 10″
Alchemical Bride 1 (Cleopatra the Alchemist) 2019
oils on board 8” x 10″
Alchemical Bride 6 (Trota of Salerno) 2019
oils on board 10” x 8”

Watercolors

Alchemical Bride 107 (Dolores Porras) 18″ x 24″ watercolor 2021
Alchemical Bride 105 (Tarsila do Amaral) 24″ x 18″ watercolor 2021
Alchemical Bride 97 (Shoen Uemura) 2021
watercolor on paper 72″ x 42″
Alchemical Bride 96 (Clara Ledesma) 2021
watercolor on paper 72″ x 42″
Alchemical Bride 95 (Amelia Pelaez) 2021
watercolor on paper 72″ x 42″
Alchemical Bride 94 (Tamara de Lempicka) 2021
watercolor on paper 72″ x 42″
Alchemical Bride 93 (Rosa Bonheur and Juliette Bonheur) 2021
watercolor on paper 72″ x 42′
Alchemical Bride 92 (Lyubov Popova) 2021
watercolor on paper 72″ x 42″
Alchemical Bride 7 (Merit-Ptah) 2019
watercolor on paper 30” x 22”
White-Glove (Tapputi-Belatekallim) 2019
watercolor paper 30” x 22”
Alchemical Bride 32 (Hannah Sanesh) 2019
watercolor on paper 30” x 22”
Alchemical Bride 16 (Enheduanna) 2019
watercolor on paper 30” x 22”
Alchemical Bride 15 (Tapputi) 2019
watercolor on paper 30” x 22”
Alchemical Bride gallery view
Alchemical Bride 5 (Christina of Sweden) 2019 mixed media on paper 8″ x 8″

Vellum

installation view
Platonic Solid Manuela Saenz 2020
Platonic Solid Manuela Saenz 2020
Prism Hatshepsut 2020
Prism Hatshepsut 2020
Platonic Solid Hypatia of Alexandria 2020
Platonic Solid Hypatia of Alexandria 2020
Platonic Solid Hypatia of Alexandria 2020
Platonic Solid (Bessie Coleman) 2020
Platonic Solid (Bessie Coleman) 2020
Platonic Solid (Bessie Coleman) 2020
Platonic solid Ida B. Wells 2020
Alchemical Bride 43 (Alfonsina Storni) 2020 oils on vellum 38″ x 26″
Alchemical Bride 45(Marie Curie) 2020
oils on vellum 38″ x 26″
Alchemical Bride 42(Melania the Elder and the Younger) 2020
oils on vellum 38″ x 26″
Alchemical Bride 44 (Fatima Jinnah) 2020
oils on vellum 38″ x 26″
Alchemical Bride 92 (Ana Betancourt) 2020
oils on vellum 38″ x 26″
Alchemical Bride 18 (Awashonks) 2019
acrylic on vellum 38” x 26”
Alchemical Bride 19 (Clara Zetkin) 2019
acrylic on vellum 38” x 26”
Alchemical Bride 17 (Artemisia II) 2019
acrylic on vellum 26” x 38”


Grisailles

Alchemical Bride 88 (Eulalia Guzman) 2020 12″ x 9″
Alchemical Bride 78 (Dandara de Palmares) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 80 (Manuela Saenz) 12″ x 9″ 2020
Alchemical Bride 81 (Juana Azurduy) 12″ x 9″ 2020
Alchemical Bride 87 Leona Vicario 2020
Alchemical Bride Drawing 1
Gouache on paper 12″ x 9″
Alchemical Bride Drawing 3
Gouache on paper, 12″ x 9″
Alchemical Bride Drawing 2
Gouache on paper, 12″ x 9″
gallery view

Blue Period Grisailles

Alchemical Bride 47(Josefina Mendez & Aurora Bosch) 20″ x 32″ 2020
Alchemical Bride 20 (Dolores Ibárruri) 2019
acrylic on paper 30” x22”
Alchemical Bride 21 (Federica Montseny) 2019
acrylic on paper 30” x22”
Alchemical Bride 22 (Hannah Senesh) 2019
acrylic on paper 30” x22”
Alchemical Bride 31 (Sobekneferu) 2019
acrylic on paper 30” x 22”

Rose Gold Period Grisailles

Alchemical Bride 29 (Valada) 2019
acrylic on paper 22” x 30″
Alchemical Bride 30 (Abigail Adams) 2019
acrylic on paper 22” x 30″
Bride 25 (Agnodice) 2019
acrylic on wood panel 10” x 8”
Bride 26 (Ana Betancourt) 2019
acrylic on wood panel 10” x 8”
Bride 27 (Abella of Salerno) 2019
acrylic on wood panel 10” x 8”

Drawings

Mixed Media Bride 7 (Myrna Baez) 10″ x 7″ 2022
Mxed Media Bride 4 (Rose-Marie Desruisseau) 10″ x 7″ 2022
Mxed Media Bride 3 (Belkis Ayon) 10″ x 7″ 2022
Mxed Media Bride 1 (Sara Gomez) 20″ x 16″ 2022
Mxed Media Bride 2 (Lourdes Gomez-Franca) 20″ x 16″ 2022
Mxed Media Bride 5 (Mirta Cerra Herrera) 12.5″ x 12.5″ 2022
Mxed Media Bride 6 (Olga Albizu) 12.5″ x 12.5″ 2022
Alchemical Bride 62 (Marina Mikhaylovna Raskova) 2020
charcoal on gesso paper, 27″ x 18″
Alchemical Bride 63 (Yevdokia Bershanskaya) 2020
Charcoal on prepared paper  27” x 18”
Alchemical Bride 78 (Rigoberta Manchu) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 84 (Las Damas en Blanco) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 75 (Elvia Carrillo Puerto) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 83 (Abuelas de Plaza de Yayo) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 85 (Marielle Franco) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 82 (Evangelina Rodriguez) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 76 (Juana Azurduy) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 89 (Hemila Galindo) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
Alchemical Bride 90 (Teresa Carreno) 2020
Pastels on paper, 12″ x 8″
gallery view

Engravings

Alchemical Bride Engraving 1
intaglio, 6.5″ x 9″
Alchemical Bride Engraving 2
intaglio, 14″ x 9.5″
Alchemical Bride Engraving 3
intaglio, 11.5″ x 11.5″
Alchemical Bride Engraving 4
intaglio, 14″ x 9.5″