The portrait work of artists is intimate and personal, revealing much about the artists themselves as well as the subject. Artists often make portraits of the people who are close to them, their family, and friends. For lack of a model, they often use themselves as the subject. Fascination with the portrait, traced through a multitude of traditions and cultures, rises from the deep-seated desire to understand and know some truth of ourselves.
Intuitively we read events, gather information, and glean understanding through the curl of the lip, the glint of the eye, the flash of teeth, the scars, the direct or averted gaze. Multiple layers of history and emotion, revealed in the form of the portrait, make a fascinating study.
In this show, seven artists share their portrait work, some of it done over the years, some of it new and still in the developmental stage. We hope you enjoy our pursuit of the portrait.