Victoria Phillips: Select Works from “An Abstract Narrative”
September 6-27, 2019
Victoria Phillips: Select Works from “An Abstract Narrative”
Opening reception: Friday, September 6, 5:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, September 2, for the holiday.
Information about the show:
An Abstract Narrative is a direct response of the exploration of my spirituality. Through the investigation of my processes and materials I have created a series of paintings that reveal the vulnerability of my spiritual ethos and express my personal narrative through a visceral lens. In my life I have experienced tremendous hardships, yet through those difficulties I have found hope. I was born into poverty. My father was an ex convict who began his Judeo-Christian experience in prison while my mother was innocence personified. In the thesis series, An Abstract Narrative, I regard my childhood experience of psychological and emotional brutalities, strangely intertwined with my engendered spiritual ethos creating a visual representation of my life. The paintings were born from a self reflective exploration within my spirituality that brought healing through inner expression that has been materialized into the paintings. – Excerpt from An Abstract Narrative, Thesis, Victoria Phillips, SCAD
Artist Statement
My overall body of work is an exploration of my spiritual ethos. This exploration of non-tangible elements is based on hope for a better life and peace that surpasses all cognitive understanding. Through exploring the transcendental qualities found in my processes and metaphorical connections, I aim to delineate a sense of hope while providing an environment that is conducive for a visceral experience.
The process of layering and removing marks using different styles and materials creates a visual language to communicate spiritual allegories and personal narratives. For me, the process of layering is intimate because it is a metaphorical representation to life and not just any life but my own. Each layer not only informs the next but it is essential to the whole. The act of layering initially developed from a fascination with realism, which evolved into expressionism with conceptual methodologies.
My work is synthesis of Romanticism, Modernism, and Contemporary as each informs my process. The colorization and the spiritual aspects of Romanticism are reflected in my paintings. Modernism concepts are found evident through use of synergy displayed in multiple substrates and fields of color. In addition, Contemporary aspects are woven into each piece through the use of non-traditional tools as well as conceptual strategies in which the spectator plays a role in the completion of the work.
Artist Bio
Victoria Phillips (b.1992, Knoxville, TN, United States) graduated with a B.A. in Visual Arts with an emphasis in Studio Art and a minor in Advertising in 2013 from Lee University in Cleveland, TN. She completed her M.F.A. in Painting at Savannah College of Art and Design in 2019. She has been a guest speaker for the Art Department at Lee University as well as an adjunct professor. She has been involved in numerous exhibits throughout Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee as her private collectors continue to grow in the southeast and abroad. Phillips completed an artist in residency in Skopelos Greece in 2019, which gave her the opportunity to exhibit internationally. Phillips has worked as an educator in the public school system for the last 5 years. She now resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
Instagram: @victoria_rose_phillips
Website: www.victoriarosephillips.com