Allison Maletz - Totem Pole

My work involves the idea of the domestic, platonic- yet secretly dysfunctional western family. I have been questioning: when does something that is so pleasant, become disturbing? I make images that are beautiful, happy, nostalgic, and push them to their possible breaking point, when their pleasantries overtake them, and they reach a level that is no longer enjoyable, but somewhat uncomfortable. I make this work to be lovely, allowing for the possibility that something grotesque is trying to surface. I have no desire to use watercolor in a traditional way. I paint horizontally on large sheets of paper, in some areas allowing pools of water and pigment to collect, staining the paper, and drying willy-nilly. In other areas I use hyper-real detail and intricate patterns conveying a kind of controlled and contained chaos. These two styles combine to bleed, stain and soil my illustrative subjects. I often break basic compositional rules by cropping the paintings, sometimes even dismembering my subjects. All these elements make this medium the perfect vehicle to create my collection of contradictions. I paint from old family photographs, examining moments from three generations of my normal, yet sometimes odd genealogy, using my own family and lifestyle as an example of a bigger picture. From my grandparents’ highly dysfunctional marriage to my twin sisters, I use humor, color and beauty to portray something quite ominous that exists behind the closed doors of suburbia.