Tracy Kerdman

Lives and works in Las Vegas, NV

Artist statement

I paint figurative and still life oil paintings about the uncanny. I focus on subjects and compositions that look familiar but feel 'off.' My process begins by constructing staged environments using a mix of objects sourced online, mostly from Amazon and Etsy, to create deliberately artificial arrangements. In addition to these still lifes, I use my husband as a recurring figure. After carefully lighting and photographing my setups, I then use the images I create as a reference for my paintings. My execution is smooth, with opaque layers and a saturated palette. The technical clarity is intended to heighten the sense of the unnatural, making the subjects feel warm and real yet distinctly synthetic. Ultimately, I am using an old tradition and medium to explore a modern issue around detachment and putting oneself on display for any stranger’s easy and immediate consumption. I often incorporate silicone hands, tongues, wigs, and prop cigarettes, to obscure the line between the organic and the manufactured. My work accepts, digests and understands it is being watched. I invite and encourage one to look into my simulacral world, where the distinction between reality and voyeuristic blurs.

Artwork