I Am You
May 1 - May 30, 2014

Someone #2,
Oil on Canvas
6 x 6 inches,
2014

Someone #1,
Oil on Canvas
6 x 6 inches,
2014

Self Grasping,
Oil on Canvas
24 x 18 inches,
2014

Dreamer,
Oil on Canvas
24 x 18 inches,
2013

Dissolution,
Pastel on Paper
76 x 52 inches,
2013

Dependent Origination,
Oil on Canvas
36 x 24 inches,
2014

I Am You #6,
Powdered Pigment on Paper
30 x 22 inches,
2013

I Am You #3,
Powdered Pigment on Paper
30 x 22 inches,
2013

I Am You #2,
Powdered Pigment on Paper
30 x 22 inches,
2013

I Am You #1,
Powdered Pigment on Paper
30 x 22 inches,
2013

Touch,
pastel on paper on board
11 x 14 inches,
2011

Sigh,
pastel on paper on board
11 x 14 inches,
2011

Smile,
pastel on paper on board
11 x 14 inches,
2011

Tilt,
pastel on paper on board
11 x 14 inches,
2011

Near,
pastel on paper on board
11 x 14 inches,
2011

Wait,
pastel on paper on board
11 x 14 inches,
2011
The concept for this series of paintings emerged during McKinney’s artist’s residency in Fremantle Australia in 2013.
She observed that most visitors to the gallery were invested in the autobiographical nature of the representation:
“People always want to know the "who" related to representational figurative painting. So, I started making them faceless, blurred or with many faces; to counteract the way we cling to a defining identification”.
Her added intention in this work is to present the phenomenal body as an evolving entity, altered by moving through time , quite unlike the simple autobiographical statement of the “selfie”. The faces in her paintings reflect these multiple moments of existence producing an ambiguous sense of identity.
By questioning identity as an absolute state, McKinney challenges the conception of self and describes these paintings not as portraits but rather “anti-portraits”.
‘McKinney holds a Master of Fine Arts , Painting and Drawing ,State University of New York at New Paltz, Master of Arts in Studio Art, State University of New York at Oswego, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design Cum Laude, State University of New York at Oswego. She has exhibited extensively in galleries in New York State.