With a background in medical illustration, perhaps it is not surprising that Stela Mandel’s paintings, which appear purely abstract at first glance, are actually explorations of and responses to the imagery she has come to know so well.
About this series of paintings, the artist says:
“In my mixed media work I use medical imaging, such as x-rays and MRIs, as a point of departure. Often, I combine these mysterious images with other unrelated materials, attempting to reveal or tell a story in an underpainting. I then paint multiple layers, rubbing and scraping off as much as I put on, as I respond to the suggestions below the surface.
In House of Cards, for example, I revisited the deck of cards distributed early in the Iraq war, attempting to memorialize our fragile plan. I used x-ray segments of a shattered spine to comment on the human fallout along with a target for structure, to compose a story.”
