Birds — Liz Alderman

I depict birds as hybridized figures that embody the emotional and psychological residue of human experience. These avian forms serve as proxies for the many individuals I have encountered over the course of five decades—individuals marked by the burdens they carry, whether consciously or not. The birds are laden with detritus and decorative refuse, navigating a constructed environment that is simultaneously gleaming and degraded. In this tension between beauty and decay, I locate a metaphor for the human condition.

Beginning in 2022 my practice shifted from two-dimensional painting toward a sculptural approach rooted in bas-relief. This transition reflects a departure from the illustrative toward an expressionistic abstraction, allowing for a more dynamic engagement with surface and materiality. Through bas-relief, the physical components of the work oscillate between emergence and recession, echoing the psychological interplay between repression and exposure. This dialectic—between the seen and the concealed, the performative and the burdened—is intended to provoke questions in the viewer: Are these birds proudly displaying their resilience, or their resignation?

My process is inherently accumulative and improvisational. Each work begins with the application of nontraditional materials—items most people would discard without hesitation - like dryer lint, used latex gloves, shredded mail, expired medication, broken jewelry, my dog’s hair. These materials are adhered to the substrate to create a densely textured surface, a literal and figurative terrain of waste. The subsequent application of paint is a responsive act; the medium must traverse and interact with the obstructive landscape I have built. The result is a visual language of drips, pools, and gestural marks that speaks to the unpredictable negotiation between control and chaos. I frequently liken this process to a game of pinball: a kinetic exchange between intentionality and happenstance.

Underlying this methodology is a conceptual preoccupation with embedded, unresolved trauma. One potent source of inspiration is Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, particularly the image of Gregor Samsa—a man transformed into an insect—who dies with an apple lodged in his back. The apple, hurled by his father in revulsion, festers there, impossible to remove. This image has long resonated with me as an allegory for psychic injury that persists beneath the surface, and it informs why I bury trash and broken objects into my work.

My visual language is also informed by the cinematic and pop-cultural references of my youth. Films such as Gremlins, The Dark Crystal, Jaws, and The Blob exemplify a fascination with hybrid horror—narratives that blend menace with wonder, fear with humor. Likewise, the grotesque whimsy of 1980s toys like Madballs and the The Garbage Pail Kids trading cards reflect a cultural space where disgust and play coexisted. My work embraces this intersection, seeking to destabilize conventional binaries of high and low, repulsion and attraction, gravity and levity.

Ultimately, my practice is an exploration of what clings—materially, emotionally, historically—and how those attachments shape identity, perception, and form.

"Rosie"

Surface DETAIL OF "ROSIE"

Surface DETAIL OF "ROSIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "ROSIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "ROSIE"

"Lawrence"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LAWRENCE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LAWRENCE"

Surface detail of "Lawrence"

Surface detail of "Lawrence"

"CLARK"

DETAIL OF "CLARK"

DETAIL OF "CLARK"

Surface detail of "Clark"

Surface detail of "Clark"

"RITCHIE"

CLOSE UP OF "RITCHIE"

CLOSE UP OF "RITCHIE"

Surface detail of "Clovis"

Surface detail of "Clovis"

Surface detail of "FRED"

Surface detail of "FRED"

Surface detail of "Josh"

Surface detail of "Josh"

"Cokie"

DETAIL OF "Cokie"

DETAIL OF "Cokie"

DETAIL OF "Cokie"

DETAIL OF "Cokie"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "COKIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "COKIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "COKIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "COKIE"

CLOSE UP OF "COKIE"

CLOSE UP OF "COKIE"

"WALT"

DETAIL OF "WALT"

DETAIL OF "WALT"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "WALT"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "WALT"

DETAIL OF "PIERRE"

DETAIL OF "PIERRE"

"LEONA"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LEONA"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LEONA"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LEONA"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LEONA"

"BRODY"

DETAIL OF "BRODY"

DETAIL OF "BRODY"

DETAIL OF "BRODY"

DETAIL OF "BRODY"

RAKING VIEW OF "MARK"

RAKING VIEW OF "MARK"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "MARK"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "MARK"

"LUCILLE"

DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

CLOSE UP OF "LUCILLE"

CLOSE UP OF "LUCILLE"

"PHOEBE"

CLOSE UP OF "PHOEBE"

CLOSE UP OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

"Rosie"

"Rosie"

Surface DETAIL OF "ROSIE"

Surface DETAIL OF "ROSIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "ROSIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "ROSIE"

"Lawrence"

"Lawrence"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LAWRENCE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LAWRENCE"

Surface detail of "Lawrence"

Surface detail of "Lawrence"

"CLARK"

"CLARK"

DETAIL OF "CLARK"

DETAIL OF "CLARK"

Surface detail of "Clark"

Surface detail of "Clark"

"RITCHIE"

"RITCHIE"

CLOSE UP OF "RITCHIE"

CLOSE UP OF "RITCHIE"

Surface detail of "Clovis"

Surface detail of "Clovis"

Surface detail of "FRED"

Surface detail of "FRED"

Surface detail of "Josh"

Surface detail of "Josh"

"Cokie"

"Cokie"

DETAIL OF "Cokie"

DETAIL OF "Cokie"

DETAIL OF "Cokie"

DETAIL OF "Cokie"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "COKIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "COKIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "COKIE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "COKIE"

CLOSE UP OF "COKIE"

CLOSE UP OF "COKIE"

"WALT"

"WALT"

DETAIL OF "WALT"

DETAIL OF "WALT"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "WALT"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "WALT"

DETAIL OF "PIERRE"

DETAIL OF "PIERRE"

"LEONA"

"LEONA"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LEONA"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LEONA"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LEONA"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LEONA"

"BRODY"

"BRODY"

DETAIL OF "BRODY"

DETAIL OF "BRODY"

DETAIL OF "BRODY"

DETAIL OF "BRODY"

RAKING VIEW OF "MARK"

RAKING VIEW OF "MARK"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "MARK"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "MARK"

"LUCILLE"

"LUCILLE"

DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "LUCILLE"

CLOSE UP OF "LUCILLE"

CLOSE UP OF "LUCILLE"

"PHOEBE"

"PHOEBE"

CLOSE UP OF "PHOEBE"

CLOSE UP OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

SURFACE DETAIL OF "PHOEBE"

info

prev / next

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·