Here is exciting news from Elizabeth Colomba, a French artist with Martinican roots whose work we have featured through the years. Her solo exhibition “Mythologies” will be on view at the Portland Museum of Art from May 5 through September 3, 2023. On May 5, at 6:00pm (EST), the museum will host and opening talk with the artist, Elizabeth Colomba, Monique Long, Shalini Le Gall, Susan Donnel,l and Harry W. Konkel. The Portland Museum of Art is located at 7 Congress Square, Portland, Maine.

Description: Elizabeth Colomba uses classical techniques and themes to reimagine Greek myths, historical narratives, and autobiographical details with a contemporary lens.

The exhibition includes oil paintings, works on paper, and Colomba’s  first video work, Cendrillon, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. The film, an adaptation of the fable Cinderella, exemplifies Colomba’s aesthetic exploration of extravagance and femininity.  Employing the visual language of portraiture, the artist addresses both the presence and absence of the Black figure in the history of academic painting. Through her practice, Colomba investigates the complexities of her Black, Caribbean, and European identities. 

Elizabeth Colomba was born in Épinay-sur-Seine, France, and attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She currently lives and works in New York City. Her work is included in the collections of the Park Avenue Armory, the Princeton University Art Museum, and The Studio Museum in Harlem. This exhibition is co-curated by Monique Long, Independent Curator, and Shalini Le Gall, Chief Curator and Susan Donnell and Harry W. Konkel Curator of European Art. 

For more information, see https://www.portlandmuseum.org/mythologies

[Shown above: Elizabeth Colomba (France, born 1976), Harewood House, watercolor and gouache on paper, 50 x 40 inches.]