STATEMENT & COLLECTORS
Mary Bridgman is a contemporary realist painter creating large scale fashion portraits in oil.
Fashion has long served as a visual marker of status, culture, and personality in portraiture—communicating not only the subject's individuality, but also the social and political landscapes of their time.
Each portrait has a story and portrays friends, coworkers, students and acquaintances in clothes they have either designed and made or are by a well-known designer. These portraits explore identity and self-expression by tracing the enduring conversation between fashion and art history. This is a dialogue between old and new which includes cultural iconography, gender roles and fashion as artistic expression.
As a fashion designer and artist for many years Bridgman is communicating the significance and power of clothing in contemporary life.
With direct and indirect approaches to painting I am able to build depth, luminosity, and texture in my work, capturing both the physical and emotional layers of my subjects.
This Series is an ongoing event.
COLLECTORS LIST: Partial
Ton Vernaus, The Netherlands
Stephanie Peterson, Forester, MO
Mr and Mrs Charles Willis, Palm Beach, FL & Scotland
Arthur Dunnam, Jed Johnson, NYC
William Eubanks, Palm Beach, FL
Marion De Vogel, Millbrook, NY
Oakleigh Thorne, Millbrook, NY
Karen Castles Grey, NYC
Talbot Logan, Palm Beach & NYC
Maynard Brittan, Beverly Hills, CA
Carol Moroco, Wellington, FL
Duke Buchan, Millbrook, NY & FL
Sophie Elliot, Millbrook, NY
Debbie Davenport, Topeka, Kansas
Phillip Kasofsky, Stanfordville, NY
Karen Cord, NYC
Christie Parsons, NYC
Laurie Niles, NYC
Jackie Stahl, Millbrook, NY
Olexa Celine, Wellington, FL
Miriam Eaves and Bob Thomas, England
Amy Vezzetti, New Canaan, CT
Chef Eric Adjepong, NYC, DC
Josie and Kow Atta-Mensah, NYC
Cari Swanson, Millbrook, NY
Marcia and Lou Renzetti, West Caldwell, NJ
Lisa and Nelson Zayas, Pine Plains, NY
Mary Michele Rutherford, Palm Beach, FL
Clementine Drackett, London, England & NYC
Jay Wain, NYC
Charles Robert Austin, Seattle, WA
Frances Lester, NYC
Colette Coffman, NYC
The Kohli Family, Philadelphia and Delhi, India
Charles Emmanuel, Val de Loire, France
Lisa Houlgrave, NYC
Kathryn Lambert Booker, Washington, DC
Wendy Walworth, NYC
Chris Green, Armonk, NY
Francesca DeVito, The Hamptons, NY
Elizabeth Lerner, NYC
Taylor Billotte, Newburgh, NY
Gaya Gunasekaran , NYC