On display now in the GovState Visual Arts Gallery is the exhibition “Portraying Women.” The exhibition has brought together four artists, unique in their approaches, for a diverse showcase of the “female face, form and psyche through portraiture.” The exhibit is open until Friday, Nov. 15.

It is not uncommon to enter a gallery and see portrait work. The figure has always been a staple in the subject matter of artists. Even more, the female figure has dominated art history as a subject. What is uncommon is a collection of figurative work that is diverse in style and material that celebrates rather than, in a historical sense, exploits the female figure.  I was able to attend the Artists’ Reception for this exhibition where I took in the art in person and heard the perspective of the artists and curator.

The curator, Jeff Stevenson, shared with the group that in his artistic practice he does portrait work. It came to the attention of him and his team that they have not put on a portrait show for quite a while. They were able to utilize some connections with local establishments like the Bridgeport Art Center and the Epiphany Center for the Arts to bring artists Jesse Howard, Faith Humphrey Hill, Jeffery Equality Brooks, and Monica Brown together for a visually captivating and powerfully moving display of identity.

Before hearing from the artists, I had the chance to walk the gallery space twice.  The Visual Arts Gallery space is versatile; it is a partnering of a grand space with natural light with turns and angles that make for more intimate nooks. So, imagine 31 artworks of varying scales, mediums and palettes all depicting women who are powerful, influential, mysterious even, all in an effort to celebrate the female form

Each artist had multiple works in the space. What this offers the viewer is a fuller sense of the artists’ exploration on the subject and the different iterations of ideas and use of materials. For example, Brown’s works exhibited contemporary, graphic styled portraits in acrylic paint and portraits in mixed media collage that looked more like the pages of a scrapbook. The mix of “old” and “new” is so unusual to see in the same exhibition, let alone from the same artist. She said that her work was an homage to her ancestors, celebrating legacies and resiliency.

Howard created drawings of Mothers of the Church—significant cultural figures. He found that there was a lack of imagery there. I happen to agree. Interesting about his work in this space is that his charcoal drawings are raw by comparison. Howard embraces the nature of the charcoal medium. These grayscale works are the perfect counterpoint with the vibrant colors, metallic finishes and textures that are present with the other works.

Hill and Brooks source their images from strangers. Often, we think of portraiture as intentional, personal, familiar. But the face is familiar, the human experience is familiar. The image of a stranger does not delegitimize the emotion captured on the wall in front of us. This exhibition is innovative, if not a contest against what is a standard of formality and convention when it comes to creating and displaying portraiture.