Photo by Anna Ryabtsov

 

 

I construct broken, textured figures that resemble torn bodies marked with scars—wounds that allow light to emerge, revealing a hidden energy.

While I use physical materials, these figures are spiritual in nature, evoking a sense of mystery and the unknown.

Working on burlap, I layer limestone plaster with stains and acrylics, sometimes burning the surface as a symbolic act of release—letting go of what once was. The burlap becomes a rich tapestry, layered with earth tones, soot, and memory.

My work invites viewers to shift their perspective, to consider an alternate realm—one that exists between worlds. These figures are not of this world, but perhaps of an "in-between" space, where the spirit is forming, evolving, and preparing for its final destination—shedding earthly burdens and illuminating its inner light.

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From Curator Lucy Rovetto:

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Andrea McKenna is a designer of spaces and moods, and her new one-person show: Disintegration is no exception. McKenna subtly challenges the viewer to face the truth about living, that is, living with loss. For this “Installation,” McKenna adds the effects of fire to her layers of burlap, plaster, cheesecloth, stain, acrylic, and welding slag. In her unapologetic way, the artist invites us to go to our dark places as on a search through rubble after a tragedy. Hidden in the layers of burlap and mystery, we locate all that is precious and powerful in this artist’s work. 

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From Gallerist and Curator Kathy Imlay:

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Andrea McKenna’s painted tapestries are meditations on identity, loss and the realm of the beyond. On large swaths of burlap with frayed edges, ethereal female figures emerge and recede at once. Her palette of earthy greens, muted blues, and rust, evokes the deep sea which the artist describes as another universe as mysterious as death. The works are hung with rope from found driftwood, and appear as apparitions suspended between the wall and the viewer.

Conceptually Andrea’s work is about the process - that of becoming and of what happens when we are no longer. The materials she works with and her technique are an integral part of the message she wants to convey.

Layering Limestone plaster, with stains, and acrylic, then scraping her surfaces to near translucence, the artist states, “You can see and also touch the figure being transformed from its mortal existence. Texture is a reminder of the once physical body that was three dimensional, now dissolving back into energy, which light can pass through.”

Reminiscent of Byzantine icons, the figures are often punctuated by metal leaf halos, and eyes with a penetrating gaze.