Mary Porterfield

Lives, works in Chicago, Illinois
Opens March 2022

Exhibition Curator Statement

Works on paper by Chicago-based visual artist Mary Porterfield are largely informed by her work as an occupational therapist wherein the dynamic of patient and caregiver are in full view. Porterfield’s highly personal drawings provide an expressive commentary on loss without death, with special care towards visually documenting the effects of degenerative diseases on the mind and body. Oil on layered glassine obscures sepia-toned figures modeled after Porterfield’s own family, tracing the boundary between giving and receiving. This practice recalls evident issues within healthcare that are so often overlooked --- perseverance in the care of others and the collective loss of identity shared by both caregiver and patient. The relationships explored within these works have a life-affirming quality in stark contrast to popular rhetoric surrounding aging and the elderly.

Mary Porterfield received her MFA from ASU in 2002. Represented by Hofheimer Gallery in Chicago, Illinois, Porterfield has exhibited work in both solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Venues include, but are not limited to: Lim Lip Museum, South Korea; Phoenix Art Museum; San Diego Art Institute; Hyde Park Art Center; Kohler Arts Center; Dubuque Art Museum; Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art; Rockford Art Museum; and the Weatherspoon Museum. Additionally, she is the recipient of numerous honors in support of her artistic practice including three Illinois Artist Council Grants, a City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Grant (DCASE), a Puffin Foundation Grant, and three Chicago Community Arts Assistance Program Grants. Porterfield teaches at Northeastern Illinois University.

Taylor Marshall
March 2022

The phICA Virtual Exhibitions Initiative is made possible through the generous support of Arizona Commission on the Arts / National Endowment for the Arts, Laurie and Tom Carmody / The Carmody Foundation, Brendan Mahoney and Gordon Street, Bobby Walker and Michael L. Zirulnik, and Ted Decker Catalyst Fund.

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Exhibited Artworks

  • In Silence
  • Last Dance
  • Cherish
  • The Protectors
  • Alice Begins for Hoffheimer
  • The Remaining
  • Waiting
  • Passages
  • Installation View 1, Pushing Back the Sea
  • Installation View 2, Pushing Back the Sea
  • Installation View 3, Pushing Back the Sea
  • Installation View 4, Pushing Back the Sea
  • Installation View 5, Pushing Back the Sea

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