“I think of the painting Mother [pictured top] as a mommy-themed blow up doll designed by Caravaggio. Squeezable round lips, round breast, and round wet eyeballs, locked in a state of eternal surprise. Her lips form a ridiculous O shape, a black hole in the center of the face. A young child clings to her flesh, consuming and offering her to the viewer. The painting both explores and mocks my own fears of becoming a mother.  Compositionally, it references one of my favorite paintings of all time, Goya’s Saturn Devouring his Son [pictured bottom left] as well as Käthe Kollwitz’s Death Seizes a Woman [pictured bottom right]. These references draw attention to the ever-present desire to love and protect a child, but the fear that it will destroy and swallow ones identity whole.”

– Laura Krifka 

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Want to learn more about Laura Krifka’s work? Join us for tonight’s Rogue Wave Artist Talk, at L.A. Louver, 6: 30pm. Laura will discuss the inspiration behind her paintings and sculptures featured in our Rogue Wave 2013 exhibition.