Isaac from the Love You From Afar Series

Edition of 100
Hahnemuhle Fine Art Paper
8x10", 11x14", and 16x20"

A painter, teacher, and writer, Cara Ober layers drawing, painting, and printmaking into mixed media works that examine and reinterpret sentimental imagery. Ober's narrative works utilize specific phrases and fonts to suggest multiple voices, perspectives, and time periods. Rather than illustrating the text, the images create discord and contrast, layering metaphorical and nonsensical outcomes over personal notation.

Ober is commercially represented by The Randall Scott Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, Gallery Imperato in Baltimore, MD, and Civilian Art Projects in Washington, DC. She has participated in numerous international art fairs in the past year, including Art Miami, Aqua Winwood Miami, and Bridge Fair in London.

Cara is a 2006 MD Individual Artist Grant recipient for painting and took second prize in the 2007 Bethesda Painting Awards. She received a Warhol Grant for Emerging Curators in 2006, and a Best in Show Award at the Torpedo Factory's Juried painting exhibit in 2006 from juror Jack Rasmussen. Cara Ober earned an MFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2005 and a BA in fine arts in 1996 from the American University. Cara writes art reviews for various publications like ArtNews, The Examiner Newspaper, Art US Magazine, Art Papers, Gutter Magazine, and publishes her own award-winning art blog, BmoreArt.

ABOUT THE PIECE:

Cara Ober's 'I Love To Love You From Afar' series of mixed media drawings on paper explore the relationships between personal and collective sexual fantasies. On hand-drawn notebook paper, Ober references the schoolgirl crush and the diary, and creates a tableau for confidential revelation integrated with public messages. In each drawing, Ober renders the face of a person she has personally fantasized about, and combines it with vernacular language – from pop songs, poems, and Harlequin romance novels. This particular drawing combines a portrait of Isaac from the Love Boat television show with lyrics from 'Slow Hand' by the Pointer Sisters.