Rachel Bess "Infinity in a Second" in gallery 2

For the first time at CoproGallery Rachel Bess presents a mini-show of 3 detailed oil paintings. "My paintings portray a scene as though you are looking though a peephole and you may be looking at some type of sacred event that contains a touch of the surreal. Instead of the usual images in sacred paintings I use elements from the natural world, often elevating them to the focal point of the scene and either altering or entirely replacing traditional iconography. The paintings contain this scientific element because of my deep love for biology, botany and natural history. These bits of the sciences carry a thread throughout my work about people's desire to understand and manipulate the world around them. I believe this desire can be explained by the thought that if people can control other aspects of nature, then maybe they have a shot at controlling the heavy hand of natural fate and overcoming what nature eventually has in store for all of us.

Click for Rachel Bess Bio