Magical realism has always been a strong component of Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman’s light-filled work, and if ever there was a time for the glow of her images, it is now.
Daemons and dreams, young girls and delightful animals are most often her subjects, in work that she terms “always introspective” and which the amount of time she spent alone with her thoughts in this past year made even more so.
“I also think that global events have forced introspection from
everyone, and observing that has informed my work too, since my subject
matter is focused on the human subconscious. Also, the totally surreal
nature of everything that happened brought up a lot of esoteric
thoughts and feelings for me. I kind of felt like I was working in
slow motion and while that was uncomfortable at times, I also think it
all also helped the work,” Sullivan-Beeman says.
The pandemic has also enhanced the relationship between all species, something that ties into the magical quality of shared feeling that the artist often represents.
“I definitely think that the communication between animal and human is
especially poignant right now. People are desperately searching for
things to connect with and ways to find meaning, and animals have
played an important role in that,” she explains. “I see animals as an eternally important source of soul connection for humans, and I think more
people are coming to that conclusion as they are dealing with intense
isolation.”
The comfort, wisdom, and companionship of animals in the world has long been expressed in the artist’s work. “Animals, which in my work are spirit guides, share all of our emotions, they feel what is happening in the world around them, and for that reason they are an incredibly powerful comfort, both consciously and subconsciously.”
Sullivan-Beeman is currently creating a new body of work, and has solo shows coming up nationally – one in May of 2022 with Bert Green Fine Art in Chicago and the other in the fall with Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville. She will also be a part of several group shows with WOW x WOW and has pieces from that exhibition showing on line at present. Currently, she is also one of a lovely three-artist exhibition at KP Projects in Los Angeles, where she will also be signing limited edition prints Saturday, April 24th.
“The prints of Flamingo Girl are a Limited Edition of 25, signed and
numbered. I think that piece makes a great print because of its lush
colors and Static Medium really did an incredible job with them,” she relates.
- Genie Davis; photos provided by the artist