2023 Grad Show

Adriana Bergen

AUArts Grad Show image0 (1)

Drawing

My practice examines how the body (particularly my own) acts as a vessel for emotional burdens and thus how the work that I make is able to function in the same way as the body while better communicating in a more universal language. My pieces work together or individually against a paralysis I have when it comes to speaking through my traumatic contexts verbally and intellectually. Rather than speak directly to, they collect and reword what my body contains, giving an outlet for the trauma and my body to speak for itself. The marks made through my body, in my body and with my body translate the emotional content without my input into the canvas. The forms move through traces of my body left behind, a line of truth grounded in the deep reddish lines. Like remnants of something past, holding within them all that was experienced, the works are manifestations of internal conflicts and emotions forced into the physical realm. The raw canvas shrouds maul through and allow an external reckoning of the traumas that our bodies, my body, carries, revealing something more, something else, that the body will not necessarily say or even know for itself. My work is my way of processing and understanding myself and how I exist in the world around me. As I make the work with my body, the work becomes an extension of myself, and my traumas (stemming from queerness, depression, femininity, biculturality…) become sewn into the pieces themselves allowing me to communicate back to them in a way.

Hold April, 2023. Acrylic and tempera paint on my body on raw unstretched canvas. 17’x 4’
Hold April, 2023. Acrylic and tempera paint on my body on raw unstretched canvas. 17’x 4’
Hold April, 2023. Acrylic and tempera paint on my body on raw unstretched canvas. 17’x 4’
Fissure February 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. (6’ x 3’) x3.
Fissure February 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. (6’ x 3’) x3.
Weary Slip March, 2023. Acrylic and tempera paint on my body on raw unstretched canvas. 7’x3.5’.

The Horizontal Wall

The Horizontal Wall AUArts Grad Show IMG_5981
Hold April, 2023. Acrylic and tempera paint on my body on raw unstretched canvas. 17’x 4’
The Horizontal Wall AUArts Grad Show IMG_6020
Hold April, 2023. Acrylic and tempera paint on my body on raw unstretched canvas. 17’x 4’
The Horizontal Wall AUArts Grad Show IMG_5959(2)
Hold April, 2023. Acrylic and tempera paint on my body on raw unstretched canvas. 17’x 4’
The Horizontal Wall AUArts Grad Show IMG_4858(2)
Fissure February 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. (6’ x 3’) x3.
The Horizontal Wall AUArts Grad Show DSC_4672.(2)JPG
Fissure February 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. (6’ x 3’) x3.
The Horizontal Wall AUArts Grad Show IMG_5015(2)
Weary Slip March, 2023. Acrylic and tempera paint on my body on raw unstretched canvas. 7’x3.5’.
Disencumbering Shroud October 2022. Oil pastel, graphite and matte medium on stiffened raw unstretched canvas. 8’ x 6.5’ x 1’
Disencumbering Shroud October 2022. Oil pastel, graphite and matte medium on stiffened raw unstretched canvas. 8’ x 6.5’ x 1’
Compressing Ambients November 2022. Oil pastel, string and fabric dye on stiffened unstretched canvas. 5’ x 4’ x 8”
Compressing Ambients November 2022. Oil pastel, string and fabric dye on stiffened unstretched canvas. 5’ x 4’ x 8”
Discontinuous Vehement September 2022. Dyed canvas thread, homemade raw charcoal, matte acrylic medium and staples on raw canvas on wood stretcher frame. 5’ x 5’ x 6”
No Skin February 2022. Medium: Acrylic paint on black paper, wood panel. 6’ x 30"

Before the Red

Before the Red AUArts Grad Show IMG_3376(2)
Disencumbering Shroud October 2022. Oil pastel, graphite and matte medium on stiffened raw unstretched canvas. 8’ x 6.5’ x 1’
Before the Red AUArts Grad Show IMG_3380(2)
Disencumbering Shroud October 2022. Oil pastel, graphite and matte medium on stiffened raw unstretched canvas. 8’ x 6.5’ x 1’
Before the Red AUArts Grad Show IMG_3632 (2)
Compressing Ambients November 2022. Oil pastel, string and fabric dye on stiffened unstretched canvas. 5’ x 4’ x 8”
Before the Red AUArts Grad Show IMG_3599 (2)
Compressing Ambients November 2022. Oil pastel, string and fabric dye on stiffened unstretched canvas. 5’ x 4’ x 8”
Before the Red AUArts Grad Show IMG_2939
Discontinuous Vehement September 2022. Dyed canvas thread, homemade raw charcoal, matte acrylic medium and staples on raw canvas on wood stretcher frame. 5’ x 5’ x 6”
Before the Red AUArts Grad Show bodyofhands1
No Skin February 2022. Medium: Acrylic paint on black paper, wood panel. 6’ x 30"

Full Installation

Full Installation AUArts Grad Show DSC_4726(2)
Full Installation AUArts Grad Show DSC_4712(2)
Full Installation AUArts Grad Show DSC_4710(2)
Full Installation AUArts Grad Show DSC_4695(2)
Emulsion December 2022. Acrylic paint, rubber cement and canvas string on TPU fabric and unstretched canvas. (8’ x 2.5’) x2
Emulsion December 2022. Acrylic paint, rubber cement and canvas string on TPU fabric and unstretched canvas. (8’ x 2.5’) x2
Lacerate March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 8'x2.5' fissured.
Lacerate March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 8'x2.5' fissured.
March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 5'x3.5.
March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 5'x3.5.

The Other Installations

The Other Installations AUArts Grad Show IMG_4533(2)
Emulsion December 2022. Acrylic paint, rubber cement and canvas string on TPU fabric and unstretched canvas. (8’ x 2.5’) x2
The Other Installations AUArts Grad Show IMG_4532(2)
Emulsion December 2022. Acrylic paint, rubber cement and canvas string on TPU fabric and unstretched canvas. (8’ x 2.5’) x2
The Other Installations AUArts Grad Show IMG_5801
Lacerate March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 8'x2.5' fissured.
The Other Installations AUArts Grad Show IMG_5806
Lacerate March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 8'x2.5' fissured.
The Other Installations AUArts Grad Show image0
March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 5'x3.5.
The Other Installations AUArts Grad Show image1
March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 5'x3.5.
Grasping Spine March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 8'x2.5' fissured.
Grasping Spine March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 8'x2.5' fissured.
Silent Plumet March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 12'x2.5'.
Silent Plumet March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 12'x2.5'.
Fluid Wirthing February 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 6'x2.5'.
Untitled (body prints 1) January 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. Varying Sizes.

The Vertical Hanging

The Vertical Hanging AUArts Grad Show IMG_5771(2)
Grasping Spine March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 8'x2.5' fissured.
The Vertical Hanging AUArts Grad Show IMG_5760
Grasping Spine March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 8'x2.5' fissured.
The Vertical Hanging AUArts Grad Show DSC_4717(2
Silent Plumet March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 12'x2.5'.
The Vertical Hanging AUArts Grad Show DSC_4724(2)
Silent Plumet March 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 12'x2.5'.
The Vertical Hanging AUArts Grad Show IMG_4854
Fluid Wirthing February 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. 6'x2.5'.
The Vertical Hanging AUArts Grad Show IMG_4308
Untitled (body prints 1) January 2023. Acrylic tempera paint, canvas thread, and detritus of my body on raw canvas. Varying Sizes.

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