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About Betty:
Betty Jo Bolivar grew up in Richmond, VA. She obtained an advanced degree from Boston’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Other education in art includes study in Havana Cuba, mime workshops at the Celebration Barn, So Paris, ME, printmaking at Wild Acres, NC and courses at the Oregon College of Art and Craft.
Betty has worked as a graphic designer, window dresser, and most recently, was the owner of a contemporary art gallery in Sarasota, FL.
About the recent work:
Her latest work is about portraits that transform sentimental representation. The individual subjects seem to be frozen in a moment of desperation or doubt. Betty is drawn to personal suffering -- in particular, emotional pain. The work is immediate, and one can see in the subject’s face or body language the necessary defenses against the threat of pain.
She is intrigued by how suffering is worn on the face and in the eyes. Small hurts can devastate when you're a child; big hurts stay with you for years. Valuing the humanity and magic of the smallest, the least powerful, offers a counter view to claims that suffering counts most when you're grown-up. Suffering is universal, and the immediacy of recognition can be collective.
