Leidy Churchman: New You

About

Churchman is well known for their wide-ranging subject matter, which draws variously from nature, contemporary media, everyday objects, as well as myriad cultural signs and symbols. The work, either representational or abstract, is informed by Churchman’s deep immersion in the traditions and philosophy of Buddhism. Whether painting the view from a trail in Maine’s Acadia National Park, or a small delicately-colored abstraction, the artist conceives of each painting in the exhibition as part of an interconnected body of work. The simultaneous presentation of seemingly disparate paintings is intended to encourage a deeper engagement with each work beyond its most immediate perception.

Eternal Life New You, 2021, which at over seventeen-feet across is among the artist’s largest paintings to date, depicts a rocky coastline with a rectangular black void at the center. Waterlilies float in salt water as an oversized grasshopper looks on from the margins and what appear to be parts of a robot-like skeleton intrude at the edge. The painting is an homage to both Monet and American landscape painting, while simultaneously evoking a computer desktop.

“I love the surprise that comes from giving attention to an idea,” Churchman has said, “the surprise comes from the image, or idea, merging with painting. Painting ultimately takes over and is more powerful than the information.”