Tara Shay

Decades into adulthood, I was shocked to discover that I am among the 4% of the population with aphantasia, the inability to visualize. Whereas most people can actually see an apple when closing their eyes and imagining an apple, I only see blackness. And yet I can feel the apple. I can pull together a sense of the shine, the green-flecked red, the weight of it in my palm. It’s that gap between a seen image and felt impact that fuels my painting. My primary body of work is abstract. These three paintings are part of a separate line I recently created (under my first and middle name) to allow me the freedom to play with whimsical depictions of people and other creatures. In all of my work, I am fascinated by how a bold line or a soft shape or deep pigment can be felt deeply, and I use color and texture to create a visceral, sensory experience.