Art Opening: PICTURES OF YOU small works by Christy Powers

I've been looking so long at these pictures of you

That I almost believe that they're real 

I've been living so long with my pictures of you

That I almost believe that the pictures are all I can feel

-The Cure

My work investigates two concepts, one being the role that photography plays in memory and the second being the relationship between painting and photography. By painting images from photographs of my own life--as well as the lives of friends, family and strangers--I create memories that exist in a space between reality and fiction. I remove details, change the colors within the image and blur and distort the figures so that the viewer can project their own memory and images onto the piece.

I enjoy capturing this ephemeral and impermanent moment in my paintings. I depict the ‘just-out-of-reach’ feeling in memory where some details remain sharp yet others blur and disappear.

I choose to work on Yupo since it’s smooth and synthetic nature replicates the feel of photographic paper. I create each piece initially by projecting the photograph onto the panel and then proceed to trace an outline of the image. From there, I remove the image and paint with a mix of ink, watercolor, gouache and acrylic, from memory to recreate the feeling that drew me to the photograph in the first place.

Creating a large body of work that becomes a broken narrative of my own experiences interspersed with that of my friends, family, celebrities and strangers creating a collective memory of shared experiences. I want the work to be evocative and enable the viewer to connect their own emotions and experiences with the work.

Host or Publisher Cabada Contemporary