Caitlin Keogh explores gender and femininity in her graphic paintings

New York-based artist Caitlin Keogh’s paintings segment mannequin-like female bodies and surround them with objects, symbols and patterns. Through Caitlin’s sharp, graphic style, her artworks explore the idea of femininity, the body as an object and the self.

Reminiscent of illustrations found in instruction manuals, the delicate pastel colour palette allows Caitlin to weave more sinister subjects into the lighter aspects of her painting. The contrast between bloody knives, hole punched body parts and scissors cutting through hands with clusters of flowers and luxurious tassels is unsettling but strangely beautiful. This surreal tone is translated into small and large-scale works with Caitlin’s punchy use of acrylic on canvas.

Caitlin currently has a show of new work at Bortolami Gallery in New York and Loose Ankles uses the act of painting the unravel the idea of gender and the body. Bortolami says: “The work connects to the feminine idea of the construction of self and uses the performance of gender as an allegory for personal feelings about art history and painting.”

Loose Ankles is on now at Bortolami Gallery, New York until 29 October 2016.