As a McMillan/Stewart Chair in Painting at MICA (Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore, MD), I gave a public lecture at Falvey Hall. The topic was figure painting, ranging from Caravaggio to Kerry James Marshall. I try to weave some distinct threads and legacies of art history into contemporary figure painting. Please watch and let me know what you think.
https://vimeo.com/265629037
Kira Nam Greene’s work explores female sexuality, desire and control through figure and food still-life paintings, surrounded by complex patterns. Imbuing the feminist legacies of Pattern and Decoration Movement with transnational, multicultural motifs, Greene creates colorful paintings that are unique combinations of realism and abstraction, employing diverse media such as oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolor and colored pencil. Combining Pop Art tropes and transnationalism, she also examines the politics of food through the depiction of brand name food products, or junk food. Recently, Greene started a figurative painting series spurred by the 2016 Presidential Election, Women’s March, #metoo movement and ensuing crisis of conscience, this new body of work aspires to present the power of collective action by women.