Sonia DeBenetti-Carlisle
– Artist Reception –
Fri, Aug 14 • 4-8PM – During Art Crawl
My work consists of large-scale charcoal drawings that explore the tension between unseen or “small battles” of personal identity and the expectations imposed by marriage, tradition, and social custom. Using powder charcoal as a medium that is both fragile and manipulative, I lean into imperfection, expiration, erasure, and repetition as a way to mirror the emotional labor of maintaining a sense of self within inherited roles.
These drawings are not portraits of individuals, but of internal states. Figures emerge, dissolve, and are reworked, reflecting the ways identity is shaped, compromised, and reclaimed over time. The physicality of charcoal, its dust, smearing, and resistance, becomes a record of struggle, negotiation, and persistence.
Through scale and restraint, I invite the viewer to slow down and sit with discomfort, ambiguity, and quiet resilience. This body of work does not seek resolution, but rather acknowledges the complexity of existing within systems that both connect and confine us.
Instagram: The Tattooed Lady LLC
Location: Historic Lobby
HOURS*
Mon – Fri 10AM – 5PM
Sat 10AM – 2PM
*Also open 1 hour before most performances.
Always Free to Attend. Always Inspiring!