Virginia Mallon

I create work that reflects on the world around me; it contemplates religious, historical and mythological women, personal histories, and the psychological undercurrents of contemporary society and is influenced by social realism, political art, and feminist art, and addresses the angst and trauma of modern America from a female perspective.

My education began at 15 when I mentored with political satirist and Indian Space artist Robert Barrell. While working odd jobs, I simultaneously attended Queens College, where I studied with Elias Friedenshon, Robert Birmelin, Gabriel Laderman, and Buddy Bileck. While my professors were excellent artists and wonderful at teaching their craft, they taught me nothing about surviving or breaking the glass ceiling. I didn't graduate as an academic; I emerged as an artist and leapt into a hostile world that neither recognized nor welcomed me.

LINKS TO RECENT WORK

PAINTING

PHOTOGRAPHY

EXHIBITS & PUBLICATIONS

My goal is to excavate the psychological undercurrents of our time, exploring the many faces of social trauma. Much of my work was created from the trenches, a place I believe is the best vantage point to witness the powers shaping our world. The reality is, my creative vocation as an artist was coupled with the need for a day job, this exposed me to the relentless grind of the rat race in New York City. From a bank teller to a secretary, a shoe salesman to a sandwich maker, I've worked in law, finance, and non-profits, rubbing shoulders with moguls, monsters, and wannabe-saints. This wasn't a distraction; it was my education. It was from this belly of the beast that I gathered the notes and inspiration for my work. I've been a spy in plain sight, witnessing the powers shaping our world firsthand. I create art that reflects on what it's like to be invisible because I, too, have been invisible. I am drawn to every woman because I am every woman. I focus on the dangers that lurk around every corner because I have witnessed them firsthand. In this new and monstrous age, protest is not just warranted; it is our only hope for survival.

My art is not created in a vacuum; it is a direct product of a lifetime spent observing, enduring, and fighting back. It is a testament to the truth I've found. Some might call my artistic drive a compulsion, but I see it as a calling, a vocation. My spirit animal is a banshee keening in the darkness. If someone hears and connects with my work, I'm glad, because we all should be keening; our world is under attack. In this new and monstrous age, triggers are everywhere. Protest is not just warranted; it's our only hope for survival.

I've been told that I should lighten up. This is not a muse for real art. Politics is not pretty on a woman, especially of the feminist variety. Meek is my best option. This is an attitude that grows daily within the conservative, and sadly even art, arena. This has never been an option for me. I make the art I must make. Tell the stories I need to tell. I feel that it is because I have lived this dual lifestyle that I well am equipped, especially today, to make significant contributions.

In additional to traditional gallery relationships, artists today need to create their own opportunities outside the androidcentric art world. In response to this, The Fat Canary Journal was founded in 2018 to celebrate emerging and under-recognized artists.

Originally a monthly print and online publication, The Fat Canary Journal shifted to an online-only format with a digital gallery during the pandemic. Today, its focus has expanded to include pop-up exhibits around the United States and an annual fellowship for the Arte Studio Ginestrelle, an art residency in Assisi, Italy. For details on past and upcoming exhibits please use the link above.