Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Shore.
Rebecca, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I grew up in Vermont in a boisterous family. Being quieter than they were, I connected to art and to the natural world around me. There were lots of objects and paintings in our home that I was fascinated by. My parents were transplants to Vermont from the Chicago area so when I decided that I wanted to go to an art school I looked into the School of the Art Institute and ended up there. I had wonderful teachers at SAIC who helped me to believe that my interests were worth pursuing.
I was very interested in textiles and in pattern, and made quilts for 11 years although I had studied painting at SAIC. In the mid 1990’s I stopped making quilts and began painting in earnest as the medium afforded me more flexibility in terms of imagery and physicality.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I make paintings that I do not understand while I am making them. If I knew what I was doing I wouldn’t paint as I wouldn’t have anything to figure out.
I take photos which I make drawings and paintings from as a way to isolate and clarify what I am interested in. Working for months with a sense of being adrift, poking around, wondering whether something is stupid or brilliant is something that I have learned to expect and sometimes even enjoy. During this time, which usually follows a show, I paint in gouache on paper in small sizes. The shorter execution time emboldens me to take risks that I would be more hesitant about in larger sizes on linen or panel. As I begin to focus I move to larger paintings, most recently in acrylic, which I make using a combination of binders and pigment allowing me to control surface quality and the flow of the paint.
Some common themes have emerged over the years:
Illusion: What does it take to make the human mind believe that a painted “object” exists in space? How can that coexist with the flatness of the painting?
How can I ride a fine line between suggesting something that we know of and at the same time referring to other things and worlds? The human mind and accumulated experience are complex and not easily explained.
What is beautiful, exciting and unexpected? I am happiest when I am surprised.
What is mysterious?
After the paintings are complete, what experiences do other people bring to them that I have not thought of?
I don’t love talking about them, and would often rather hear the thoughts of others than my own. I don’t believe that the power of a painting can easily be summed up in words. That’s why it is a painting. I’m very visual.
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
Some artists have always addressed political and social issues, others have not.
I have not.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I show my paintings at Corbett vs Dempsey Gallery at 1120 N. Ashland Avenue, 3rd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60622.
corbettvsdempsey.com
In addition to what is pictured on their website they have four catalogs available.
Contact Info:
- Email: rshore@saic.edu
- Instagram: rebeccashore5
Image Credit:
#’s 1-2 Photo credit: Rebecca Shore
#’s 3-7 Photo credit: Tom Van Eynde
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