Survivor Skills

Beeler Gallery at the Columbus College of Art and Design, November 20, through January 31, 2026

Opening Reception, Thursday November 20, 5-7pm

I am pleased to have the opportunity to present Survivor Skills, an exhibition of paintings that consider the complexities of what appears to be a simple act, spending time alone in nature. These paintings, created just before and during the pandemic, were selected from my body of work for their resonance with this theme. As a survivor of sexual assault, an experience shared by many, I reflect on the constant calculations women and girls are forced to make each day. Vigilance intrudes on solitude, turning a routine walk into an anxious yet defiant act. The female subjects in my paintings are conscious of their need for self-protection, shown through gestures such as reaching for a stone or carrying a whistle. Young women, although not the only target of violence, continue to be the primary one. While they convey a guarded energy, they also reveal a longing for an effortless connection with the sublime in nature, a fragile experience easily broken by an intruder or even the thought of one.