My goal as a painter is to extract a level of emotional honesty from my surroundings. I want to convey something that originates not in the physical world but somewhere beyond it. Over the past few years I have tried to concretize this concept in painting and print by representing people in a natural environment, an environment absent of human construction. Images of people bathing at the seaside have been an excellent vehicle for this idea. In this series, human forms are separated from the environment by restricting the use of color to black and ground. I drew attention to the internal world of the individual by contrasting it to the external aspects of nature. It was easiest to express this by using little color on the humans and vibrant color on their surroundings. Though my primary intentions remain to portray the nature of humanity, I found myself glorifying the mundane. I fully realized this when I turned my focus from the water to the land. On land I found the presence of humans in an environment of their own construction. I saw seaside kiosks selling consumables, chess players in tents and bathers basking in the sun. All of these back-dropped by looming architecture told a different story. Humans represented in nature appear at ease, yet when represented in an environment of their own making, they appear to be uncomfortable or at least at odds with their surroundings. Their constructions seemed to take on an inner life that competed with that of the individual. As if architecture, technology and art not only became self-fulfilling but self-questioning. Can human construction imply human presence and therefore the nature of being? Or is it just causality. Did it happen because we made it happen or is the construction simply a reaction to our actions?

The imagery I use is drawn directly from my surroundings: the paintings of bathers were inspired by photographs taken in southern France and Brazil, the boardwalks in Rio de Janeiro and Long Island, the buildings in Queens and Brooklyn. When I travel to a new place everything seems significant. The mundane becomes transcendent.
It is important that I portray my surroundings honestly. I want to present an objective view of life with conviction and focus. The beautiful, the horrible and the mediocre are most intense the first time they are experienced. My intentions are not to dramatize any of these but to paint them with the same resplendence as in real life. If the experience is new enough, the imagery should be powerful. To view my environment as a child or inocent is not my intention. Rather, I prefer to embed myself in a community yet remain unattached. This gives my work an almost voyeuristic quality without seeming photojournalistic. I am not a photo realist. The essence of my surroundings is the aesthetic, not the other way around.



Born: 1958, Honolulu, Hawaii

Education

1989 M.F.A., Painting, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX

1984 B.F.A., Printmaking, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX

Awards

2004 Full Fellowship, Blue Mountain Center, Blue Mountain Lake, NY
      (1998, 2000, 2002)

1997 Full Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont

1987-9 Department Assistantship, Texas Christian University

1981-4 Norton Scholar, Texas Christian University

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2005 Rosalyn Bodycomb: Nocturnes, Mulcahy Modern, Dallas, TX

2003 Rosalyn Bodycomb:Paintings, Mulcahy Modern, Dallas, TX

2001 Rosalyn Bodycomb: Recent Work, Mulcahy Modern, Dallas, TX

1988 Gallery 13, Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, TX

1987 M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX

Selected Group Exhibitions

2004

Reality Check, Spike Gallery, NY, NY

Decade: Ten Year Anniversary Exhibition, Mulcahy Modern, Dallas, TX

The Gang’s all Here, Mulcahy Modern, Dallas, TX

2003 Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Rosalyn Bodycomb, Johnny Robertson, Ted Kincaid,
     curated by Dallas Museum of Art Curator of Contemporary Art Charlie Wylie,
     Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, TX

2002 loot, Mulcahy Modern, Dallas, TX

2001

Recent Work: Blagg, Bodycomb, McCullough, Waldman, Upstate Art,
      Phoenicia, NY
habeas corpus, Curators: David Maxwell and Christine Bisetto, University of Dallas      Upper Gallery, Irving, TX

2000 Group Exhibition, Upstate Art, Phoenicia, NY

1999 Introduction 2000: Rosalyn Bodycomb, Robert Hamilton, Rebecca Holland,      Mulcahy Modern, Dallas, TX

1997

Juried Exhibition, The Alternative Museum, New York, NY

Art in the Metroplex, (juried exhibition), Fort Worth, TX

Gallery Alexis, New York, NY

1996

Rachel Harris Gallery, Fort Worth, TX

Arts Council Exhibition, Fort Worth, TX

1995 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX

1994 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX

1992 Fort Worth Country Day School Faculty Exhibition, Fort Worth, TX

1990

Gallery Nuvo, Fort Worth, TX

Tarrant County Junior College Faculty Exhibition, Fort Worth, TX

1988

Art in the Metroplex, (juried exhibition), Fort Worth, TX

22nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Houston, TX

Lectures

2002 The Artist’s Eye: Artists Looking at Art, Rosalyn Bodycomb, Kimbell Art Museum,      Fort Worth, TX

Women Printmakers, The McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX

2000 Francis Bacon, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX

Bibliography

Daniel, Mike. “’Meanwhile, Elsewhere’ in Arlington.” The Dallas Morning News weekend GUIDE, November 28, 2003: 59. Photos.

Wittenbraker, Kyle . “Alumna transforms photographs into works of art at local gallery". TCU Daily Skiff. November 7, 2003. Photos.

Heinkel-Wolfe, Peggy. "Exhibit's works float on light, air." The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 13, 2003: 9F.

"Art in Dallas: Emerging Texas and New York artists at Mulcahy Modern." DHome & Garden. January/February 2004 Issue.

Daniel, Mike. “Rosalyn Bodycomb at Mulcahy Modern.” The Dallas Morning News weekend GUIDE, October 24, 2003: 60. Photos.

Kutner, Janet. “Tremendous Momentum” dramatic museum expansions are helping to attract an influx of visitors to the burgeoning scene in Dallas and Fort Worth.” ARTnews, May 2003 Issue.

"The Artist Eye : Artists Looking at Art. September 14: Rosalyn Bodycomb.” Kimbell Art Museum Calendar. August 2002 through January 2003: 18. Photo.

Kutner, Janet. “Painter’s honest look at uncomfortable subjects on view at Mulcahy Modern.” The Dallas Morning News, ArtsDay Section, November 14, 2001: 5C. Photo.

"Rosalyn Bodycomb at Mulcahy Modern.” The Dallas Morning News weekend GUIDE, November 9, 2001: 57. Photo.

“Visual Arts: Must-See Shows: Rosalyn Bodycomb at Mulcahy Modern”. D Magazine, September 2001 Issue: 38. Photo.

"Calendar: Your seasonal guide to the arts, home tours and garden happenings. Editor’s Picks: Rosalyn Bodycomb at Mulcahy Modern.” DHome, Fall 2001 issue: 158. Photo.

"On the Cover: ‘Two Women Wading’ Rosalyn Bodycomb.” Chronogram, New York, August 2001 Issue: Cover & 6. Photos.

Smith, Kim. “Maybe perspective is like another theory of relativity.” Fort Worth Magazine, August 2001 Issue: 27. Photo

Kutner, Janet. “’Introduction 2000’ at Mulcahy Modern.” ARTnews, March 2000 Issue.

McCabe, Bret. ”On View: ‘Introduction 2000’ at Mulcahy Modern.” The Met, January 5th Issue.

Mitchell, Charles Dee. “Bodycomb’s paintings make rare translation of British Influences.” (’Introduction 2000 at Mulcahy Modern’), The Dallas Morning News, January 1, 2000: 9C. Photo.

Marton, Andrew. “Three from Texas: ”Introduction 2000’ at Mulcahy Modern.” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 17, 1999.