About the Artist

Beaux Carriere’s work depicts the figure as if recalled through foggy memories. Human forms are drawn out from large, loose brushstrokes and heavy applications of paint. To varying degrees, the figures are removed from their original context and stand instead on abstracted fields of saturated colors that frequently dissolve at the edges of the canvas.

Carriere’s work aims to force reflection on public and private attitudes about gender roles and social class. The figures in his work exist primarily as archetypes. These archetypes are defined by age, gender, clothing and body language. While the figures are often derived from personal photographs and memories, they are stripped of specificity in a way that invites the viewer to approach the work with their own experiences.

Carriere’s process begins with loose gestural sketches applied in charcoal to a gessoed canvas. While some paintings reveal more of the initial drawing and employ thinner washes of paint, oil and pigment pile up elsewhere in thick layers and protrude from the surface of the canvas. The marks from previous layers remain visible beneath successive applications of paint. This gives the viewer a feeling that something is going on beneath the surface, which is similar to the experience of examining our perceptions and memories.



Photo by Katie Condon