MD Famous Artist + Katy Parnello
July 2-31 , 2022
Opening Reception July 7, 5-8pm.
Rebecca McFarland was raised by two academics in New Orleans, La. When everyone else was outside playing, she spent her childhood with the passionate Jane Eyre, the deep contradictions of Hester Prynne and the outspoken Lizzie Bennet. Women’s stories, in classic literature, movies, and theater, have defined Rebecca’s life and work. After graduating from Tulane University, she spent twenty years in Hollywood having a successful television career as an actress.
When she began painting in 2001, after an inspiring five-month adventure in Europe, she naturally turned her talents to the female figure. Her portraits involve layers of collage and acrylic paint followed by sanding to reveal the cracks and decay beneath the grace and allure of beauty. Her methods have been developed through sheer force of will combined with constant experimentation.
“I’m interested in what we reveal to each other and what we keep as privileged information—the layers we cover ourselves with to hold our secrets. I want the worn down bits to show, the broken parts. I want my women to remove their social masks and confess their deepest woes. Ultimately, I’m a storyteller, and my
passion is the story of women”. Rebecca McFarland
