Girl on Girl

April 19th - June 22, 2024, Reception: April 20th, 3:00 - 6:00

Artists Include: Vikki Cruz, Linda Christensen, Marjorie Dow, Frida Herrera, Laura Krifka, Rebekah MacKay, Loriann Stevenson 

RAM is pleased to present Girl on Girl, a group exhibition organized by RAM Director Rachel McCullah Wainwright. The exhibition will be on view from April 19th to June 22nd, 2024. A reception will be held on Saturday, April 20th, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Girl on Girl features paintings, drawings, and ceramics by an intergenerational group of female-identifying artists. Each artist uses the body as a focal point for exploring identity, self-image, gender, and desire. For each artist whose principal subject matter is themselves or other women the female gaze offers a powerful lens to view and better understand the world. Creating nuanced and powerful images of the female form, Girl on Girl celebrates the sensual, damaged, glamorous, and, above all, absolute visibility of each subject’s presence. 

Painter Vikki Cruz directs attention to fragments of the human form - a hand, a foot, or the curve of a chest; these isolated body parts serve as focal points, exploring the subtle balance between allure and suggestion. In her work, Scarred, the chest of a woman who underwent reconstructive surgery after breast cancer boldly occupies the canvas, inviting viewers to engage with notions of desire, intimacy, and vulnerability, encouraging a deeper contemplation of the complexities of the human experience. 

Linda Christensen, a painter deeply connected to the Bay Area Figurative Movement, is also interested in the complexities of the human experience and uses color and gesture to capture the emotional interiors of each subject. Unaware of being observed, the figures assume postures typical of those deep in thought or daydream, uncontaminated and unobjectified by another’s gaze. Christensen says, “My work is a series of self-portraits. I know those poses; I’ve shaded my eyes, collected on the beach, weighted a foot. I don’t necessarily want to get everything “right” or follow the rules. I want the freedom to show you the flaws and imperfections. I want to feel the emotion of being human, and you to feel that, too.”

In Marjorie Dow’s work, perfection, or the question of it, is highlighted with a series of paintings depicting The Three Graces. From Greek mythology to contemporary art, these three figures represent the ideals of female beauty and are associated with nature, creativity, fertility, charm, splendor, and joy. Dow, who has worked in the beauty industry for forty years, uses her figurative paintings to confront unrealistic beauty standards and, in this work, reclaims the image of the Graces as one of joy and empowerment. 

Frida Herrera’s self-portraits aim to dissociate her body from objective reality by using both literal and distorted representations. In her artwork, she manipulates her body to break free from limiting concepts of gender and sexuality. In Objects in the Mirror, the figure is portrayed in an intimate setting surrounded by domestic necessities and personal belongings, raising the question of who the object in the frame truly is. 

Through intimate and carefully constructed figurative paintings, artist Laura Krifka dissects the mechanisms of power, identity, and observation in visual culture. By collapsing several views of the same pose, subject, space, and time into each painting, Krifka creates scenes that appear deceptively simple but are rife with distortions, puzzles, and physical impossibilities that make visual factuality tenuous and challenge a viewer’s perceptual abilities. Krifka’s figures occupy various states of undress, preparation, or play, expressing ease with intimacy and acknowledging that looking is a central component of desire.

Rebekkah MacKay, an action painter with an intuitive approach, portrays the female form through confident and spontaneous gestures. Her almost life-size figures come to life, tapping into intricate layers of human emotions. Embracing a rich palette, MacKay's figurative works burst with vibrancy and unexpected elements, conveying bold, lush female forms in an immersive experience that invites you to engage with the layers, similar to the way she does during the creative process.

Multidisciplinary artist Loriann Stevenson's sculptural vessels focus on the female form. Inspired by the historical study of women and their visual representation, Stevenson’s bulbous forms are reminiscent of the Venus of Willendorf, an ancient symbol of fertility, Greek antiquities depicting the idealized female form, and African wood carvings representing fertility, luck, and maternity. These works aim to evoke a sense of irreverent bodily presence and sensuality and celebrate the beauty and strength of women, femininity, and all that the female form embodies.