© Mary Beth Carl, In the studio, 2021. Image courtesy of the artist.

January 19, 2022

Amie Potsic interviews painter Mary Beth Carl about her current work based on the nostalgia of stereoscopic photography and the female gaze.

Mary Beth Carl is an oil painter and former ceramic sculptor based in Chester County, Pennsylvania. She discovered her passion for art in her late high school years and continued her practice at West Virginia University receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting. As an emerging artist, commission-based work and experimenting with her artistic style have been a focal point in the years following her degree. Her paintings have been exhibited in a solo show at Phoenix Village, Phoenixville, PA, in the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, Art Star boutique in Philadelphia and has been exhibited in the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Carl currently focuses on oil painting and is inspired by both the human figure and the process of layering imagery. Most of her painting processes are influenced by effects commonly found in photography, such as anaglyphs, double exposures, and long exposures. She is interested in translating these techniques into paintings and experimenting with the way overlapping images interact on the canvas and play with the viewer’s sense of focus.

For more information or acquisition, visit www.marybethartwork.com and follow her on Instagram @marybeth.art.

Artist Statement

My work explores color relationships and visual compositions inspired by stereoscopic photography. I’m interested in visual effects typically bound to a specific medium and translating them onto a canvas. While choosing female imagery and a seductive aesthetic, my primary focus is the creative process and how the colors, brushstrokes, and figures interact in the painting.

The eyes and familiar human form draw the viewer in, while the image’s multi-colored layers play and alternate the painting’s central focus. Instead of creating a specific focal point, the viewer’s attention sways back and forth from each defined figure. My work dances on the line of portraiture and illusion, generating truly alluring and unexpected pieces that inspire creativity and imagination through a feminine lens.

-Mary Beth Carl