Political Animal: Paintings by Daisy Rockwell
At the Main Street Museum’s front gallery from Thursday 14 April 2011 to 1 July, 2011
With an opening reception Friday, 15 April, 2011 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Vibrant Indian snacks both sweet and savory. Elegant samosas and refreshments. Byob.
Raised in western Massachusetts in a family of artists (her grandfather was Norman Rockwell), Ms. Rockwell has recently moved to the Upper Valley. After a detour into academia, where she acquired a PhD in Hindi literature, she returned to her roots and took up painting again. Daisy Rockwell paints under the alias, Lapata (pronounced ‘láh-puh-táh’), which is Urdu for “missing,” or “absconded,” as in “my luggage is missing,” or “the bandits have absconded.”
Ms. Rockwell has exhibited in North Adams, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles. She has never exhibited before in Vermont, so we are privileged to present her Green Mountain début!
The Work:
These paintings are small, usually not more than ten inches square, and have a gem-like quality almost like varnish, though they are painted in acrylics and occasionally in acetone-based tempera (nail polish).
Subject Matter:The subjects of Ms. Rockwell’s paintings are culled from the ranks of the famous and the infamous: a series of portraits of Egyptian protesters in Tahrir Square; a series of paintings of Alina Kabayeva, rhythmic gymnast and alleged mistress of Russian premier Vladimir Putin; a portrait of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange dressed as Santa Claus; a series of paintings of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin in masculine poses (and some in which he holds adorable animals); and a series of paintings of alleged and convicted terrorists in the Global War on Terror.
We hope this gives you some sense of what you will be getting into, when you visit.
Images:
Centaur, acrylic on wooden panel, 2011
Emo, acrylic on wooden panel, 2010
