Medium: Abstract painting.
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Ancillary interests: Running The Suburban Gallery (244 W. Lake St., Oak Park) out of my garage with my husband, Brad Killam; writing art criticism for art magazines; curating exhibitions around Chicago; teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Latest development: Curating group exhibition at The Pond gallery (through June 8 at 1152 Milwaukee Ave.).
How people have described your paintings: “Minimal Pop” and “denuded pointillism.”
Aesthetic concerns: I like asking painting to engage in difficult philosophical questions. Current art production seems to shy away from weighty issues, opting instead to embrace the visceral pop domain of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Currently I am compelled by the meaning of “goodness” and how it differs from what is “great.”
Best decision: Coming to terms with the fact that art institutions, museums, galleries and curators don’t necessarily have artists’ best interests in mind. They are trying to appeal to such a wide range of audiences that they stopped appealing to the art literate. So [Brad and I] took it on ourselves.
Acts of rebellion: When I was pregnant with my first child in graduate school, I remember [a professor] telling me, “You can’t be an artist and a mother at the same time.” I thought, “I will prove you wrong.” Same thing with critical writing; people told me that it has no value, so I thought, “OK, I can do that.”
Unifying force: I am driven by the fundamental belief that artists have a responsibility to think and act alternatively. These alternatives may fail, but I remain interested in cultural possibilities.
Prized possession: My TV. It is an immediate conduit to our cultural imagination and our cultural “un-imagination.”
Ideal viewing: Claude Monet’s “Five Figures in a Landscape” (1888) at the Art Institute of Chicago. It makes me think about picture-making in general, and about the difference between what the painting meant when it was made and what it means now. How do we rescue it from being trite when it’s been used to market products?
Realistic goal: I don’t have any desire for my art production to be democratic. I am very content to contribute to a very narrow audience exploring a very esoteric question.