Virginia Mallon
Artist Statement:
My work is a fusion of social realism, feminist, and political commentary used to unearth the psychological undercurrents, societal anxieties, and deep-seated traumas of modern American life from a female perspective.
Casting off any pretense of decorative art, my work confronts difficult narratives surrounding oppression in America today.
Along with a traditional arts education/background I now embrace unconventional, weathered surfaces like burlap, slate, found objects and cigar boxes as well as traditional canvas. Working with fragmented, historical materials such as discarded roof tiles recovered from a condemned state psychiatric hospital allows me to build a physical layer of broken shelter and institutional history directly into my art. It seems appropriate to embrace the imagery of industrial and urban ruins in a world gone mad.
The Climb, Assisi, 2015
Rose and the Sparrow, who we used to be
D, Nana, and N, who we used to be
What's with the Canary?
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. The name, Fat Canary" comes from a line in the John Lyly poem:
Oh, for a bowl of fat Canary,
Rich Palermo, sparkling Sherry,
Some nectar else, from Juno’s dairy;
Oh, these draughts would make us merry!
The Canary was quiet in 2026, but in September 2027 it is co-curating an exhibit at the Queens College School of Art's Rosenthal Library along with Arte Studio Ginestrelle Director Marina Merli, titled Boundless Bridges: Unity and Fellowship Across Borders
A collaborative, international exhibition featuring artwork from distinguished artists who launched from Queens College (CUNY) including Marilyn Banner, Virginia Mallon, Sara Fischer, and Chana Zelig, alongside colleagues and international fellows from Marina Merli's Arte Studio Ginestrelle and The Writing Residency in Assisi, Italy including Susan Phillips, Dee Mallon, and Jude Harzer. A multi-media event it will feature both visual art and writings developed in Assisi. The core theme of this exhibit is global fellowship, cross-cultural artistic dialogue, and social unity. The show examines how creative practice transcends geographical, cultural, and political boundaries, weaving shared human narratives through diverse visual media, where art acts as an universal language capable of forging deep bonds across distances.
By bridging the regional and historical roots of Queens College graduates with the transnational, idyllic environment of the City of Assisi and the Mount Subasio nature reserve in Assisi, Italy, Boundless Bridges celebrates artistic solidarity.
Exhibit will run September 1 to 30, 2027, with an opening reception on Saturday, September 18th from 3 to 6pm, with other events scheduled during the month to celebrate these talented artists.
