Details:
① Artwork:
Red Head
This picture shows a woman smoking a cigarette. Except for her blue fingernails, she is unadorned by any jewelry or visible clothing. The expression on her face is neutral and inscrutable; it lacks even the feeling of ennui, instead suggesting an overwhelming blankness.
The artist frequently depicts women that don’t seem to fully engage in their activities. This woman isn't posing for a male viewer; instead, she seems to absent-mindedly take on performative gestures and acts that have entered the collective memory through art, fashion and pop culture.
Orchard's work plays with the formal elements of early 20th century modernist movements, such as cubism, fauvism or German expressionism. In her compositions, she embeds contemporary narratives into figurative painting history while raising questions about the representation of the female body.
Specs:
③ Artist:
Danielle Orchard’s paintings and works on paper investigate contemporary representations of the female body. Her work depicts women who don’t seem to fully partake in their leisure activities, yet are not posing for any male gaze; instead, they absent-mindedly take on performative gestures that have entered the collective memory through art, fashion and pop culture. Orchard’s work embeds contemporary narratives into the history of figurative painting by playing with formal elements of modernist movements such as cubism, fauvism and German expressionism.
BIO:
Danielle Orchard was born in Michigan City, Indiana in 1985. She received a MFA from Hunter College in New York City.
Her work has been exhibited internationally at: Jack Hanley Gallery in New York City; Projet Pangee in Montreal, Canada; and V1 Gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Her work has been reviewed in The New Yorker and The New York Times, among other publications.
Orchard lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
