TRACY COLLAMORE

First Street Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of recent work by Tracy Collamore.  Reliquaries is a series of still-life oil paintings that imply the existence of an ominous dimension beyond the physicality of the objects and settings.  Much like a reliquary that transforms objects into mystical sources of thought, Collamore uses a variety of boxes in each painting to house a variety of objects within.  Starting with similar compositions and sizes, Collamore creates balanced arrangements inside the box and sets them in front of women’s clothing.  Backgrounds of dresses imply the female form, while the box and objects transform into an exposure of internal organs.  This series exposes the implications of female reverence and the expectations of societal gender roles. The subtle narrative of each painting exposes what it is to be female.