Milwaukee-based artist Beth Bojarski wants to make you laugh. She is among the small, select breed of contemporary artist that successfully delivers serious artwork with a fantastic sense of humor. "I love the fact that an artist is often given more freedom to question the world around them," says Bojarski. Her work continues to challenge the viewer in a sustained, timeless way. "(T)he great thing is even I may think I know what a painting is about, then I see it a year later and find something completely new."
Often working in oils on found wooden surfaces, Bojarski creates paintings as a form of storytelling. All the while the artist delves into a fantastic world that draws upon her own peculiar ability to find everyone's laugh-button. Though each work of art stands alone, the characters that develop dynamically during the creation of each piece relate within the series as a whole to tell the tale. Bojarski plays further upon this concept in Confessions from the Family Tree by incorporating the original mythical family Adam & Eve, infusing features of her own family throughout the series and traditional family portrait elements. The intertwining tale of the "family" based on the connection of characters in this collection of paintings is rooted within the gallery by a 3-dimensional installation created by Bojarski with sculptor Mark Winter.
