The Whole Ball of Wax, group exhibition juried by Joanne Mattera
The juried exhibition The Whole Ball of Wax will display images by thirty-five artists, all of whom integrate the medium of encaustic into their works. Images in this show address the way in which personal, cultural, social, and religious traditions have shaped, actually and metaphorically, the lives, experiences, memories, and expectations of women of different ages, races, belief systems, and sexual orientations. Many works in this exhibition manifest the anxiety associated with the demand for the impossible realization of an ideal female body, at once mother, wife, lover, and cultural producer. Other artists in the Invitational directly appropriate reference to religious iconography and practice, including those of Jews, Catholics, and even ancient Mayans in order to offer visual signifiers for bodily or psychological pain and suffering or social/historical marginalization.
Joanne Mattera has been a painter for 25 years. Over the past decade she has specialized in encaustic, showing her work in solo and group shows in the United States and abroad. Her recently published book, The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax (Watson-Guptill, 2001) has become the standard reference on the subject. Joanne Mattera divides her time between New York City and Salem, Massachusetts. She shows in Chicago at the Melanee Cooper Gallery. Mattera’s artwork can be viewed on her website: http://www.joannemattera.com
(Banner image: artwork by Jill Douglas)
