June Ahleman

Themes of identity, grief, perception, and objectification are central to my work. Large scale paintings and installations that depict intimate, confrontational portraits work to challenge the exploitative tradition of portraiture. This exploitation often functions as a result of objectification, defining the sitter by one aspect of their identity, an experience, or their physical appearance. I’m interested in confronting this objectification and exploring how I can capture more than one element of someone’s identity in my work. Impermanence, grief, and loss are also important themes in my practice. I have been exploring how I can archive and memorialize not only the friends I've lost but also my experience losing them without defining them or myself solely on this experience. I paint large scale paintings because of their immediacy. Conversely, elements like gestural brush strokes or sound installation ask that the viewer take time to sit with the subject and attempt to view them as they perceive themselves. In both my work about loss and identity, I hope to immerse the viewer in the subject’s experience, whether that be an experience of loss or experience of their own identity.