“Chrysalis” (2022), oil on canvas, 40 x 54 inches.
In Chrysalis, artist Laura Berger encapsulates the raw emotional energy of transformation in a soft, subdued color palette of blues and pinks. The solo show on view now at Stephanie Chefas Projects features a collection of oil paintings that center on entwined figures, their bodies protected by each other and their limbs sometimes positioned as shields.
In comparison to Berger’s earlier paintings, this body of work diverges in opacity, with translucent appendages and torsos emerging through other figures. Moonlight or a sheer veil similarly blanket some of the subjects as they huddle together in compact groups. The artist describes the works:
I’m interested in painting as a means to explore what it means to be human, what it means to be alive in this time and connected to each other—all with our own histories, our stories—but sharing in our collective humanity and our ties to what came before us and what will come next. I initially started painting as a therapeutic practice, and that continues to be the foundation for my work: using color as a centering healing tool and a way to sit with different combined energies; using narrative and composition exploration as a way to work through various experiences or memories.
If you’re in Portland, you can see Chrysalis through September 24. Otherwise, find more from Berger on Instagram, and find available prints in her shop.
“Accommodation” (2022), oil on canvas, 34 x 26 inches.
“Sheath” (2022), oil on canvas, 44 x 32 inches.
“The Rose Veil” (2022), oil on canvas, 40 x 52 inches.
“A Fleeting Touch 2” (2022), oil on canvas, 11 x 14 inches.
“Portrait of a Woman Dissolving” (2022), oil on canvas, 40 x 24 inches.
“Fresh” (2022), oil on canvas, 40 x 34 inches.
“A Fleeting Touch 1” (2022), oil on canvas, 11 x 14 inches.