Kristin Calabrese

"Don't Go Down Booze Alley"  oil on canvas  78" x 102"  2010

"Fear of the Poor"  oil on canvas  78" x 96"  2005

"Interior Disaster"  96" x 102"  oil on canvas  2002

"Lean" 18" x 52"  oil on canvas (leaning against wall)  2008

"Don't Be Afraid"  69" x 6"  oil on canvas  2011

"Board"  48" x 48"  oil on canvas  2011

Kristin Calabrese has been exploring a lot of ideas over the last decade. Most of it stems from her work as a realist painter, playing with ideas of verisimilitude; for example, toying with three dimensions on a flat surface and then propping that flat surface against a wall to claim a three dimensional sculptural presence. She also plays with perspective, another aspect of the 3-dimensional vs. 2 dimensional issues at the heart of representational painting. But this is only one Kristin Calabrese. There are many. She is at times a social commentator, at others a visual autobiographer, or an occasional symbolist, or sometimes just a hyper realist devoid of content beyond representation and illusion. She even toys with abstraction while maintaining a realist approach by creating the illusion of a three dimensional abstract construct. You may not like everything she does. Or you may. But you're sure to find something that will challenge your ideas of what realism can do in contemporary art. You can see much much more on her website: www.kristincalabrese.com

Thanks once again to the folks at www.booooooom.com for posting her work