Beneath the Surface
Isolation Series, Part II
Oil on canvas, 52 x 32 inches, 2025, residency project
The familiar can feel both safe and uneasy at once.
Beneath the Surface: Psychological Portraits in Domestic Space transforms old family photographs into large-scale paintings that explore unease within the familiar. One of the central images is based on a 1970s photograph of my mother sitting alone teetering on the edge of a diving board at a motel pool. At first glance, the scene feels calm and still, yet beneath that stillness is something exposed and suspended. That tension lies at the heart of the work. You can see the first in the series here.
Created during my 2025 summer residency at the VAV Gallery in Montréal, this project allowed me to work on several large paintings at once, sketch directly on the walls, and test how the pieces could inhabit space together. Inspired by artists like David Hockney, Edward Hopper, and Sergei Parajanov, I explore how quiet, ordinary moments can reveal hidden psychological depth.
Exhibitions featuring Isolation (Part I):
Related
VAV Gallery, Montreal, Qc, juried exhibition
September 2025
Held in September of 2025, the Summer Residency Show was an exhibition to show the work that the 6 reisdent artists produced during their residencies over the course of the summer of 2025. In two cohorts, a group of 3 artists were given access to the gallery space and facilities to develop reserach-creation projects.
Marie Khediguian's Beneath The Surface Series (Isolation Part I, Part II & Part III).