Elizabeth McLaughlin '21
Major: Visual Arts
Bio: Elizabeth McLaughlin is a senior Visual Arts major at Fordham University at Lincoln Center. Her paintings are inspired by the art that emerged from the counter culture movement of the 1960s, including visual artists like Peter Max and musicians like Jerry Garcia.
Title of Research: Let It Grow!
Mentor: Ms. Amie Cunat
Abstract: My abstract paintings use mixed materials and saturated, contrasting colors set against a marbled ground to create an atmospheric space. I am influenced by the psychedelic, mind-bending prints and drawings of the late 1960s and early 1970s -- namely by artists Peter Max, whose palettes create an intense and optically vibrant experience, and Wes Wilson, whose compressed images and text grow and elongate to fit together like jigsaw puzzles. My paintings confuse the eye and disrupt one’s sense of depth through my use of color and texture. I first prep my canvasses by pouring and swirling various paint colors to create a marbled ground. From there, I layer biomorphic forms onto the canvas. I use molding paste, acrylic washes, and mixed materials, such as glitter and jewelry beads, on the surface. By using these applied materials and unexpected color choices (for example, blue overlapping green creates pink), I aim to complicate the figure-ground relationship within my paintings