Wholesale Women

“In Maureen Dougherty’s paintings, a curious medley of variegated characters spills out pell mell, unfiltered, almost seeming to bypass the author’s second thoughts or better judgments. Thankfully so. Much of contemporary life consists of fending off new manipulative inroads. Everything seems to be trying to do a number on us, astonish us, control us. Dougherty is aware of the inherent provocativeness of her figures, but they simply appear, they aren’t forced on us. Neither are they faux naïf, faux sophisticated, faux artful. They are strange but put forth without overriding attitude. Honest and yes, trusting. Guileless fantasies transformed into tableaus of colorful personalities, filmic fragments, salacious scenes.” — Joe Fyfe The book includes the past four years of figurative painting beginning in 2021 during the Covid pandemic. A move from studio practice of abstraction to the figure facilitated a comfort zone once deemed unbearable, now enriched with humanity.