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Emerging from a wildly whimsical palette of pastel blues, greens, pinks, and violets; ten completely transparent glass objects of all different sizes and thickness lay scattered among three tiers of green and white iridescent rectilinear platforms. The foreground of the image is distorted by a cylindrical stem flower vase, and two small bowls off to the left and right side corners of the image. Then, partially distorted behind the vase and large bowl off to the left side resides four glass oddities, an egg, an abstract paperweight almost reminiscent of the swirl of soft serve ice cream, a spherical vase, and a sherry glass. The bottom half of the egg alongside the right and left side of the paper weight is abstracted and distorted by the rims of the large stem vase and bowl in the foreground. The center of the paper weight is not distorted by any other glass form, leaving only the sides of it to be warped. All abstractions that take place through the layering of glass pieces are done so using variations of light and dark greens, blues, and violets. To the right of the egg is the mate of the first sherry glass, and right behind that is yet another flower vase. Directly behind the vase lies the third and final plain, where in the distance a final glass object can be observed looming over the still life. This object is a cylindrical box with a curved anthropomorphic lid residing on top of it. Together, all of these objects reflect and refract light, which causes a symphony and color and highlights that dance around the canvas.

Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without A Face)

Alexandra Collins

Oil on Canvas

Undergraduate
Spurred out of a curiosity surrounding my own limitations as a maker, “Les Yeux Sans Visage” acts as an examination of the transparent quality of glass and its potential relationship to fragility and defenselessness. By utilizing a nontraditional color palette, I assert myself in the modern painting sphere, whilst using the mode of a traditional still life to communicate an idea. Inspired by the desire to expand my skillset as a painter, this piece is a culmination of a semesters worth of consummate work. Here, I am interested in drawing similarities between the act of vulnerability and glass objects.