Showhouse | Enamel, Acrylic, Dye, and Graphite on Panel | 42" x 42" | 2015

Artist Statement: As a painter, I am interested in understanding painting as an ever widening field of exploration. I am interested in the physicality of paintings as object, as well as their functioning as a two dimensional picture plane. Painting is both a way through which I observe and experience the world, and a means through which I engage my community. The common threads that connect my divergent ways of working are an interest in warmth, joy, movement, and a balance between structure and chance.

Tessa Greene O'Brien is a recent graduate of Maine College of Art’s MFA program, where she was the recipient of the Presidential Scholarship award and the Professional Development grant. She is the cofounder of the Portland Mural Initiative, a public art project that has received a Kindling Fund Grant through SPACE Gallery and the Warhol Foundation, a Maine Arts Commission project grant, and an Allagash Community Fund Grant. O'Brien has been a visiting artist at Bowdoin College, and is currently showing paintings around New England. She lives and paints in South Portland, ME.