Phoebe R Fisher: Threads

Artist’s Statement

As an artist and an art educator, I am constantly striving to maintain balance between my passions and my responsibilities. The result is this body of work, which while disparate in media, contains common threads. While I consider myself primarily a painter and draftsperson, my work is branching more and more into unknown territories as I try materials new to me, like scratchboard and watercolor.

The two most significant unifying concepts in this body of work are the ideas of time and identity. I am interested in the effects of time on the human experience; lives are lived in stages and relationships change, sometimes subtly and sometimes drastically. So manyof our memories become simplified, while others remain sharp. There are several works in which I contemplate these ideas while trying to capture the essence of a place or the people associated with it. I consider my landscape work to be more like portraiture than an interest in the physical space.

The uterine image is used as a paradoxical symbol for my own identity, both societally and personally. I am so much more than my own fertility, and yet it defines much of my life experience. I at once embrace it and strive to stand apart from it, claiming my own autonomy. Historical artists like Artemisia Gentileschi, who wove threads of her own personal life throughout her oevres and overcame adversity, are inspirations to me.