Artist Statement

I am especially interested in how women have been perceived and portrayed throughout history, literature, and modern forms of media through the lens of the male gaze.  I often wonder how patriarchal standards affect societal and cultural norms and mores as a whole, religious and social class systems and gender and sexuality.

My work often depicts female archetypes inspired by fairytales, mythologies, and historical figures in multilayered mixed media bodies of work and installations.  I create maximalist works that mimic the way in which we are so frequently bombarded with imagery and notions that perpetuate patriarchal and oppressive viewpoints.

My current body of work, On Love & Consumption, is an interdisciplinary body of mixed media works that plays on a kitsch aesthetic and a maximalist approach that critiques higher social classes and gender through satire and dark humor.  Using the historical archetype of Marie Antoinette, reimagined with a modern twist, I combine painting, sculpture, poetry and performance to examine the current state or late stage capitalism and its parallels to the French Revolution in terms of wealth inequality and economic oppression, coupled with the seemingly insatiable appetites of the upper crust, paying particular scrutiny on the women of this class system as they simultaneously function as both the oppressed and oppressors themselves.

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Artist Biography

Christy E. O’Connor is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in the New York metro area.  She combines wearable sculpture, performance, and 2D mixed media works to create narrative bodies of work and installations.

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Education

2010
Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ
M.S.E.D., Special Education

2006
Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ
B.A., Visual Arts

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Awards & Honors

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Residencies

2022
Artist in Residency, Elsewhere Studios, Paonia, CO

Two time recipient Artist in Residency, Eileen Kaminsky Family Foundation MANA, Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ

2020
Artist in Residency, AlterWork Studio, Long Island City, NY

AlterWork Studios, Long Island City, NY

2017
Artist Professional Development Program, Creative Capital, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

2016
Creative Capital Blended Professional Development Program for Artists, Trenton, NJ

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Bibliography

2019
O'Shea, Patrick, “Creating from crisis: 6 N.J. performers share responses to COVID-19”, NJ Advanced Media September

Norton, Sue J., “Janson Collaborative Project”

2018
Ananaia, Billy, “Treacherous Women Now Showing at the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council”, Asbury Park Press, March

2017
Gervasi, Angela, "Temple Represented by Artists at Nasty Women”, The Temple News, January

“Of Lines Drawn,”, Tales from the Forest: Issue 4, January

Indie Soleil Magazine, pg. 52-53 & back cover, January

“A Woman’s Place is in the Revolution,” Resist, pg. 24

2016
Acerra, Danielle, “Lost Connections,” X.it Artzine, pg. 21-22, Spring: Monmouth Arts Quarterly
News, NJ, 2016

Exhibitions

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Solo

2020
Victim Shame, Body Blame, ChaShaMa Studios, Matawan, NJ

2018
Absent Memories, Vacant Dreams, Waterwitch, Highlands, NJ

2018‍

Treacherous Women, Atlantic Highlands Arts Council, Atlantic Highlands, NJ/Warren Community College

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Collaborations

2021

Art Fair 14C, Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ

Collaboration with Laurie Pettine and Leslie Sheryll

2018
Hallow, Basecamp, Trenton, NJ
Collaboration with Timothy Lucas and Cecilia Martinez

2016
Lost Connections, ArtSpace105, Monmouth Arts Council, Red Bank, NJ
Collaboration with Kate Eggleston and Andrea D’Alessandro

Automaton, ArtLab Gallery, Artworks, Trenton, NJ
Collaboration with Kate Eggleston

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Group

2023
Devil’s in the Details, WaterWorks Art Museum, Miles City, MT

Dreamland, Hamilton Street Gallery, Bound Brook, NJ

Is It Me?, Trolley Barn Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY

Making the Cut, Shoebox Projects LA, (online), LA, CA

2022
Faces & Facades, Curator, Adam Sanders & Barbara A. Friedman, Atlantic Highlands Arts Council,Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Small Works Members Show, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL

New Now, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

REEMERGE, Off the Wall Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Resilient II, Curator, Ivy Brown, Art 150 Gallery, Jersey City, NJ

Don’t Say Gay, Royal Society of American Art, Brooklyn, NY

In the Darkness, Brooklyn Art Cave, Brooklyn, NY

Fragile, Hamilton Street Gallery, Bound Brook, NJ

Heartlines Continue, Ceres Gallery, NY, NY

2021
Rewrite HerStory. Women Making the World Better, Drawing Rooms on ARTSY, Jersey City, NJ

Normal, Art In Odd Places 2021, New York, NY

215|610 CONTEMPORARY Juried Exhibition of Regional Emerging Artists, Delaware Community College, Virtual Exhibition
Curator: Christina Vassallo

Fotographia, Emerge Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY

Unraveled, The Untitled Space, NY, NY

Through the Eye, Women’s Work Art, Poughkeepsie, NY

The ChaShaMa Matawan 11, Atlantic Highlands Arts Council, Atlantic Highlands, NJ

215|610 CONTEMPORARY Juried Exhibition of Regional Emerging Artists, Curator, Christina Vassallo, Delaware Community College, Virtual Exhibition

Womyn’s Werq, Studio Montclair, Montclair, NJ
Curator: Donna. R Kessinger

The Empowering, Art150 Gallery, Jersey City, NJ
Curator: Danielle Scott

Privilege, Power, and Everyday Life, Studio Montclair, Montclair, NJ
Curator: Theda Sandiford

2020
Primarily Red, Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY

Memories, Gallery 40, Poughkeepsie, NY

Exhale, Art House Productions, Jersey City, NJ

The Feminine Agenda, Women’s Work.Art, Poughkeepsie, NY

ProArts Salons, Online Exhibition

Isolation, Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY

Luck, ChaShaMa Studios, Matawan, NJ

Doom and Bloom, West Windsor Arts Council, West Windsor, NJ

Annual Snow Ball Gala, Arthouse Productions, Jersey City, NJ

2019
10x10 Art Show, Artworks Trenton, Trenton, NJ

ProArts Salons, Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, NJ

Cathedral Arts Festival, Grace Church, Jersey City, NJ

Clear as Crystal Cold as Ice, LITM, Jersey City, NJ

It’s Not You It’s Me, Art House Productions, Jersey City, NJ

Identity, The Gallery Space, Rahway, NJ

Shiny Objects, LITM, Jersey City, NJ

Inside/Outside, Plaxall Gallery, LIC, NY

2018
10x10 Art Show, Artworks Trenton, Trenton, NJ

Home for the Holidays, Base Camp Trenton, Trenton, NJ

Primarily Red, Emerge Gallery, Saugerties, NY

Winter Blues, Hamilton Street Gallery, Bound Brook, NJ

Tectum, Dusklit, Seligmann Homestead, Sugar Loaf, NY
Installation

Who Are We? Who Am I?, Grace Church, Jersey City, NJ

The Earth Speaks, Barron Arts Center, Woodbridge, NJ

Neon, LITM, Jersey City, NJ

Selected Women, Selected Pieces, Waterwitch, Highlands, NJ

Art on the Edge, AHAC, Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Curator: Anthony “Weird Eye”

Women’s History Month, JC Cultural Affairs, Jersey City, NJ

Angels, Wild and Winsome, Metuchen, NJ

Triggered, Milkweed, Sugarloaf, NY

This Is Us, ChaShaMa Studios, Matawan, NJ

2017
Unapologetic Art Show, LITM, Jersey City, NJ
Curator: The Vagilante

Greetings From Montclair, Studio Montclair, Montclair, NJ

Little Wonders, LITM, Jersey City, NJ

10x10 Art Show, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

About Faced, Atlantic Highlands Arts Council, Atlantic Highlands, NJ

What’s Next, Harborside Atrium, Jersey City, NJ

Eraserhood Forever 2017, PhiliaMoca, Philadelphia, PA

Trans Degenerate, Milkweed, Sugar Loaf, NY

Facing Dreams, Heaven Arts Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ

Against the Grain, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Rinse, Lather, Repeat, Hamilton Street Gallery, Bound Brook, NJ

Fear, JCTC, Jersey City, NJ

Grass is Greener, Gallery U, Westfield, NJ

Guilty Pleasures, Volition Gallery, Orangeburg, NY

The Garden of Earthly Delights, Plaxall Gallery, Long Island City, NY,

Dusklit: Interactive Art Bazaar, The Seligmann Homestead, Sugar Loaf, NY

Undertow, LITM, Jersey City, NJ

Art All Night, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Whatever, The Raven Gallery and Boutique, Jersey City, NJ

Solstice, Pro Arts, Jersey City, NJ

Iconic, Woodbridge Artisan Guild, Woodbridge, NJ

Wildness and Wonder, Concord Public Library, Concord, MA

Elephant in the Room, Hamilton Street Gallery, Bound Brook, NJ

The Raven Turns 3!, The Raven Gallery and Boutique, Jersey City, NJ

Everyday People, Gallery U, Westfield, NJ

Common Threads 5, Hopewell Valley Vineyard, Hopewell, NJ

Love Letters, LITM, Jersey City, NJ

Politicked Off!, Milkweed, Sugar Loaf, NY

2016
Small Wonders, LITM, Jersey City, NJ

10×10 Art Show, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Wish List, Boonton Arts and Speakeasy Art Gallery, Boonton, NJ

Heart Wood, Hamilton Street Gallery, Bound Brook, NJ

Wicked, Belmar Arts Council, Belmar, NJ

Art of Darkness Haunting at the Bayou, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Eraserhood Forever: Eraser Head Tribute, PhilaMoca, Philadelphia, PA

Mystic and Mayhem, The Raven Gallery and Boutique, Jersey City, NJ

Haunting at the Hive, Hive Gallery, Chester, NJ

Vanity, Jersey City Theatre Center, Jersey City, NJ

Out of the Box, Gallery U, Westfield, NJ

Dusklit: Interactive Art Bazaar, The Seligmann Homestead, Sugar Loaf, NY

Art All Night, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Hat Show, 313 Gallery, Jersey City, NJ

Emerging Artists Series, A.J. Dillon Art Gallery, Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Boonton Arts Dog Days of Summer, Boonton Arts and Speakeasy Art Gallery, Boonton, NJ

St. Baldrick’s Benefit Art Show, The Irish Pol, Philadelphia, PA

The Raven Turns 2!, The Raven Gallery and Boutique, Jersey City, NJ

Blanco, Gallery U, Westfield, NJ

2015
Everything but the Kitchen Sink, A.J. Dillon Art Gallery, Atlantic Highlands, NJ

10x10 Art Show, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Land of Misfit Toys, The Raven Gallery and Boutique, Jersey City, NJ

Art of Darkness—Carnival of Souls, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Something Wicked, Gallery U, Westfield, NJ

Revolution, The Arts Corner, Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Pequenos: A Group Exhibition of Small Works, Gallery U, Westfield, NJ

Hands for Mental Health Project, Verona Park, Verona, NJ/Yanticaw Park, Nutley, NJ
Outdoor Art Installation

Art All Night, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Boonton Arts Dog Days of Summer, Boonton Arts and Speakeasy Art Gallery, Boonton, NJ

Women Waging the Way, Monmouth University, W. Long Branch, NJ
Art Auction

Grand Tiny, Trenton Works Gallery, Trenton, NJ

2014
10x10 Art Show, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

Art of Darkness, Artworks, Trenton, NJ

2002 - 2006
Senior Thesis Exhibit, Kresge and Pascal Gallery of Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ

Photography Specialization Exhibit, Courtney Art Gallery of New Jersey City University, Jersey
City, NJ

Fine Art Specialization Exhibit, Courtney Art Gallery of New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ

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Performances

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2023
Diamonds Are a Queen’s Best Friend, performed with ChaShaMa, NY, NY

2022
Holding Court, performed at Elsewhere Studios, Paonia, CO

Luncheon in the Grass with Marie, performed at ChaNorth Residency, Pine Plains, NY

Diner en Blanc, performed at Lincoln Park, Jersey City, NJ

Raise a Drink to Dystopia, performed at Off the Wall Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2021
Eat, Buy, Love, performed at ChaShaMa Gala, Times Square, NY/ JCAST, Jersey City, NJ/ Art All Night, Virtual Live Stream, Trenton, NJ/ Art In Odd Places, NY, NY

Let Me Tell You a Story, The Glass Gallery, Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ

2020
Christmas in Quarantine, Art All Night Virtual Live Stream, Trenton, NJ

Tea Time in Turbulence, Berrie Center for the Arts, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ