Bio
Metra Mitchell earned her BFA in Painting with minor in Art History from Western Kentucky University and an MFA in Painting from Fontbonne University. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be seen in publications such as Studio Visit Magazine, All the Arts Magazine, and LUXE Interior + Design Magazine. Commercial galleries include Houska Gallery in St. Louis, MO and Sager Braudis Gallery in Columbia, MO. Special collaborative projects include collections at the Angad Arts Hotel & Metro Theater Company in St. Louis, MO. She also teaches studio and art history courses at Maryville University, St. Louis Community College, St. Charles Community College and Southwestern Illinois College.
In Mitchell’s work, archetypal characters appear in many guises within staged theatrical environments. Unpacking her constellation of imagery carries a strong emotional charge, conjuring a complex process of transformations. This metamorphosis involves the human body--a living presence that may take on different shapes and forms. Concealed identities, masks, and other disguises reflect a lack of certainty, but also encourage play. Through the physicality of the painting process, this new body of work investigates polarities of vulnerability/control, the revealed/concealed, and the juncture between composure/discomposure. Within the theater of painting, bodies and the space physically become the playground. In this way, the images should convey both conviction and ambiguity.
Artist Statement
Masks and disguises may be metaphors with deeper psychological meanings. Wherever known reality stops, where we touch the unknown, there we may project an archetypal image. I understand archetypes as universal, archaic patterns and images that derive from the collective unconscious and the psychic counterpart of instinct. Each piece is the residue of the act of working toward a semblance of meaning where the vulnerability and endurance of the body continues to hold and reflect these residues.
www.metramitchell.com
@metra_mitchell
