Rachael Grad

Motherhood is mayhem. My art subjects reflect parenting moments, and my painting technique is a reference to, and mocking of, art history movements such as the machismo of the Abstract Expressionist painters. My art practice is driven by an obsessive-compulsive need to document my three kids and their perpetually changing debris (meaning their messes of toys, books, clothing, and crafts). Daily household and art routines, rituals, and schedules reflect my attempt to reign in the chaos of parenting.
My “Mommy Mayhem” digital collages are the basis for abstract expressionist paintings. In my “Motherhood Hit Me Like a Train” series, I use my children’s Thomas the Train toys as paintbrushes. Rolling a toy train across my artwork as a not-so subtle metaphor for being a mother artist. My visual language is informed by abstract expressionism, playful mark making, and the contradiction between my dream of control and order versus my reality of constant pandemonium and mess at home.