Virginia Mallon / Fat Canary Journal

Project Proposal: Inscription and Ascent: A Triptych on the Enduring Feminine

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This proposal outlines a collaborative exhibition featuring the works of three accomplished female artists—Virginia Mallon, Rochelle Shicoff, and Jude Harzer, titled Inscription and Ascent, this project delves into the enduring narrative threads of biblical and mythological tales, using them as a powerful lens to examine the strength, endurance, and plight of women in contemporary society.

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The artists collectively explore universal themes of lost paradise, original sin, and sainthood from distinct yet resonant perspectives. By re-imagining these foundational stories, they create a shared conversation about the historical positioning of women and the persistence of patriarchal structures.

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Contact: Virginia Mallon, 646-641-8545, virginiamallon@gmail.com

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The Artists and Their Narratives

 

Virginia Mallon: Even in the Garden

www.VirginiaMallon.com

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Virginia Mallon, a New York artist working in paint, photography, and mixed media, presents her
series Even in the Garden. This body of work deconstructs prevalent myths, biblical narratives, and fairy tales to scrutinize the portrayal of women's societal placement. Mallon posits that these foundational accounts, often fictive, symbolically trace the erosion of feminine power and the emergence of patriarchy, with the series’ title underscoring the pervasive and historical vulnerability of women, suggesting that systemic challenges existed even in archetypal paradises.

Influenced by social realism, political art, and feminist art, Mallon's practice contemplates religious, historical, and mythological women, personal histories, and the psychological undercurrents of contemporary society. Her work boldly addresses the angst and trauma of modern America from a female perspective, tackling challenging topics such as serial violence, religious fanaticism, intergenerational trauma, and the ongoing attacks on women's reproductive rights.

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Rochelle Shicoff: A Day Such As This

​https://shellyshicoff.weebly.com/

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Rochelle Shicoff is a visual storyteller whose biblical painting series, A Day Such As This, offers an intimate, emotional journey through these epic narratives. Begun during the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 24” x 18” paintings trace the artist’s own shifting moods and emotions during a time of crisis.

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The series began with the Garden of Eden and progressed through the Expulsion (Watches The River Run ( The Garden), representing a time away from social activities. Her subsequent feelings of anger and frustration prompted Because It Is, a depiction of Hell, before concluding with Time Unmeasured, which features the Ark and its sense of hope for the future. Shicoff’s smaller 10” x 8” bas relief paintings are also included, highlighting focused visual vignettes within the larger narrative.

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Jude Harzer: Mythologies and Memory

​http://judeharzerfineart.blogspot.com/

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Jude Harzer, a painter, educator, and art advocate, will contribute painted works that are inspired
by childhood memories and inherited mythologies. Harzer is a creative, committed, and focused artist who views excellence and errors as necessary steps toward improvement and advancement.

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Her approach to biblical themes draws on a personal history shaped by these shared cultural narratives. Harzer's focus on inherited mythologies will complete the triptych of artistic voices, offering a counterpoint that grounds these grand narratives in personal experience and the legacy passed down through generations.

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Inscription and Ascent promises to be a powerful and timely exhibition that uses the timeless power of biblical themes to ignite a contemporary dialogue on female experience. The diverse media and singular visions of Mallon, Shicoff, and Harzer will create an emotionally resonant and intellectually stimulating exhibition that re-examines the sacred and the profane in the context of the modern woman's journey.

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