See You on the Other Side
Solo exhibition at Washington State University, Vancouver.
Dengerink Administration Building Gallery.
14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue
Vancouver, WA, USA 98686
January 12, 2026 - April 9, 2026.
Statement
See You on the Other Side is a new series of oil paintings on stretched linen that feature bursts of light, luminous skies, butterflies, and figures or apparitions, all grounded in the recognizable while drifting towards abstraction. I’m interested in capturing the feeling that something is about to happen—a sense that transformation and revelation are possible. I see the imagery in each painting as a portal—a threshold between what we know and what is yet to be discovered.
Over the last decade my work has been driven by the question of how to define feminine power, which I’ve come to describe as a mix of empathy, care, and capacity for connection. Facing the unknown feels to me a feminine act, and my recent work has focused on the unknown and the unknowable. I want my paintings to feel like the viewer is facing something they don’t understand—for me it’s death, but also a deeper connection with spirituality and the earth itself. I want the paintings to be imbued with a sense of longing for transcendence or something like it.
In Girls Night Out, three figures, seen only as pairs of hands, surround a table. An explosion of colored light appearing in the middle of the table suggests the power of the women’s combined presence. In All the Sorrow You’ve Ever Known… a solitary figure lies in a clearing under a night sky. Light bursts from her chest like a firework. I see her coming into her own capacity, newly ripe with power. Her pose references Matisse’s nudes, but unlike the odalisques from Western art’s history, her story is her own. New Moon and Believer both present single butterflies. I love the feminine nature of butterflies. Here they represent the evolution of our bodies over time. The butterfly has been a caterpillar and is now fully transformed—could we transform as well?
In the titular work in the series, a feathered orb of light appears beyond an arched window. The window’s lower ledge acts as a barrier, creating distance for the viewer. Distance enhances desire, and I want to express a longing that has not yet been fulfilled. The world has so much darkness in it right now, and I want my paintings to hold hope—to reflect what it feels like to love and persevere amidst real worry. See You on the Other Side suggests that we will make it through, that we will emerge together anew.
