ARTIST STATEMENT
Combining figuration with surreal elements, my painting practice closely examines the relationship between the self, the physical body, and the metaphysical body in a contemporary context.
I’m interested in the ways that embodied existence causes people to crave “connectedness” while simultaneously striving for individuation. I aim to recreate that tension in my work, often using the visual languages of photography, screens, browser windows, and digital effects to imply nested existences or an illusory reality.
While online avatars and selfies allow for new forms of existential expression, raw corporeal existence is an unavoidable experience that demands consideration and care. Inspired by the teachings and mythology of Tibetan Buddhism, I emphasize embodied presence as necessary for self-knowledge and empathy, and represent the body as a potential site for revolution.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Zoe Beaudry is a figurative oil painter based in Detroit, Michigan. Her practice examines existential questions related to selfhood, divinity, and individuation in the twenty-first century, and is informed by contemporary mysticism and philosophy of mind, fourth-wave feminism, and spiritual practice.
Zoe completed a BA in Studio Art from Kalamazoo College in 2014 and obtained her MFA from the Glasgow School of Art in 2018. Her work has been included in exhibitions throughout the Midwest and internationally in the UK, Israel, and Australia, at venues including The Zhou B Art Center (Chicago), Chicago City Hall, Piano Nobile Kings Place (London), Mall Galleries (London), and The Glue Factory (Glasgow). She has held art workshops for youth in Tulkarem, Palestine, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, and has undertaken residencies at Kriti Gallery in Varanasi, India and The Forge in Detroit, Michigan.
Awards include a Beeler International Project Grant for her work in Haiti, first place in Exhibit Fine Art Center and Gallery’s National Juried Competition in 2018, and the Northwood University Artist Award, awarded by the Midland Center for the Arts in 2019. In 2019 Zoe was featured on Sky Portrait Artist of the Year on the Sky Arts Network.
© Zoe Beaudry