Katy Richards hasn’t let a global pandemic hold her back from vigorously working in her studio and producing an ongoing series of seductive oil paintings. Her recent series focuses on tightly cropped images of the human figure that are both candid and erotic, celebrating our flesh and all its strangeness, imperfections and beauty, with an objective to remove any notions of shame that surround the body. Richards’ process of working wet paint into wet paint creates  saturated surfaces, with a variety of strokes and shifting color. From a distance, her images come into focus with a remarkable photorealistic sensibility.

Richards explains that "My paintings create an intimate space where viewers can closely look upon the body. Zoomed in, the compositions present little distance between the viewer and the subject. Reveling in both vulnerability and confidence, the paintings are pro-physicality. The work speaks to our shared corporeality and the desire for connection with one another.” 

Katy’s paintings couldn’t be more relevant in a time where many are sensing their skin rebelling against seclusion. People are craving human interaction, and in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, this new exhibit boldly addresses the necessity of social and emotional touch and how it affects on our emotional state of mind.

Richards’ will be exhibiting a total of fifty-five new oil paintings in an exhibition titled See Myself Something Different, opening August 19 and on view until October 2, 2020.