Mequitta's profile

The only thing I’ve ever wanted to be is an artist. My work has brought me the things I most desire from friends to rigorous intellectual engagement. Studying the history of art, I constantly discover painting in its diverse conceptions across time and geography. I get obsessed with little things like Goya’s calling card clutched in a magpie’s beak and Zurburan’s cartellino on a painting of the crucifixion. I am motivated by big ideas like painting as a record of our changing notions of beauty or how to make paintings that communicate clearly and invite the creative participation of the viewer. My unique ethnic heritage; I am the daughter of an African American mother and a South Asian Indian father, informs my work as well. For many years, this cultural mix was the central theme of my work. As I get older, struggles with identity fade, and issues of the body, mind and our unique place in history rise to the surface. One thing that has remained constant in my work is my use of my own image as a form for my evolving concerns, both personal and painterly. I am an introvert; I spend my days thinking, reading, writing, drawing and painting. I live in Baltimore with my scientist husband and our two cats.

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