"I am fascinated by the carefully constructed, highly marketable realities the catalogs present," Blackburn writes on her website. "They allow us to construct or maintain our identities and self-perceptions. They give form to larger cultural forces such as fashion, class structure, economic and social status, and global marketing."
The paintings have echoes of the original home décor designs, but they're more an undercurrent than the main focus. Rather, the canvases seem to be about deconstructing space. Curtains and chairs seem to pass through each other as the furnishings and architecture occupy multiple places at once. And then everything is animated by Blackburn's feel for design and paint. The painted outlines contrast with the drips and scrawled and wiggly passages, which in turn contrast with the sleek, crisp photos underneath. Everything sort of hovers in the air and dances.
Topics:
Museum And Gallery
, University of Rhode Island, Marsden Hartley, Wheeler School, More 
, University of Rhode Island, Marsden Hartley, Wheeler School, Chazan Gallery, URI, Georgia O’Keeffe, Less 
