Maddie Rizzo
Maddie Rizzo
Grounded in my personal experiences as a young woman, my pen and ink drawings explore issues like feminism, body image and mental health. I am influenced by artists who negotiate between fine art and playful illustration – such as Raymond Pettibon, Saul Steinberg and Maira Kalman. I am also inspired by writers like Nora Ephron and Carrie Fisher, who took on issues of womanhood through an autobiographical and humorous lens. Fisher once wrote, “If my life wasn’t funny, it would just be true, and that is unacceptable” – a pointed and self-aware philosophy that I try to implement in my own artwork. At the intersection of art and humor I hope the viewer will form a connection to the work through the funny and not-so-funny moments we experience in our daily lives. By taking on these complex social issues with comedy and empathy, I aim to take away some of their power to cause harm and cultivate a shared experience between the artist and the audience.