ARTIST STATEMENT
My works are often comical; but they also raise unsettling questions about our place in the world. Recent works reflect my anxieties and fears about the world; the failures of ecological, social and political structures.
The painting Red reflects my outrage of the Supreme court overturning the landmark Roe v, Wade decision.
In the 70’s I enjoyed watching the TV show Maude. The episode Maude’s Dilemma aired in 1972. In this episode Maude, age 47 becomes pregnant and must decide if she should get an abortion or not. After much thought, she decides to have an abortion. The episode aired two months before Roe v. Wade was decided in the United States Supreme Court.
I was 15 years old at the time, I would never have imagined that 50 years later young women would have fewer rights than I had.
The QR code in the painting links to the theme song of the show Maude.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Violet Costello is an artist living and working in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She studied at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver and received her MFA from Concordia University in Montreal. Her large-scale works often blur the lines between painting, sculpture, and installation, filling gallery spaces with multiple figures. A recent series of paintings, Bringing Home Baby, explores themes of enculturation. This work received the Procreate Project Mother Art Prize 2020 Online Award with Richard Saltoun Gallery in London. It was also a finalist in the 2019 Salt Spring National Art Prize.
Costello’s newest paintings reflect the ongoing turmoil of the past few years. Costello has shown work throughout Canada and has received awards from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, British Columbia Culture, and Canada Council.
© Violet Costello