Maya Erskine | Guest Curator

“I love the entire “Kiss” series. I’ve embarrassingly tried taking pictures many times of me kissing someone I’m with and it never looks like what I imagine it to look like. My face is contorted, I have a double chin and the shadows from the other kisser’s face makes it look like I have a mustache. The sensation though, is embodied perfectly in this drawing. Feeling completely entrenched with someone, bodies and faces mashing together to create oneness. The line of her neck sharing the outline of the other kisser’s face is beautiful. I’ll never achieve that kind of a kiss aesthetically, but I have experienced that feeling in a kiss. Does that make sense?”

“I love the colors, layers and textures here. I wish I could see it in person. I imagine I would sit and stare at it for a while, leaving with a sense of peace and calm. When I look at this painting, it reminds me of my friend’s home growing up in a rustic canyon. It was a big modern house surrounded by trees. It’s a strange association but I instantly smell her house, and am deeply comforted by that.”

“I love this face. I’m sure everyone who looks at it sees themselves like I do. It feels like the perfect portrait of my spirit when I’m fully myself, which my brother refers to as my alter ego, the “Graya”. Uninhibited, weird, wild, stupid, mischievous and honest.”