Maggie DiGrande

Maggie DiGrande
Lodge

My thesis project consists of a series of oil paintings (18″ x 24″ canvas) that incorporate other household items. These paintings depict universally recognizable scenes that are usually occupied by tons of people, crowded to the point where you cannot walk without brushing past random strangers, but are now empty due to the pandemic. I will incorporate the other materials in spaces where there would ordinarily be lots of foot traffic. For instance, some of my ideas include an empty carnival, concert venue, popular city sites such as Times Square, ski lodge, etc. Eliminating the people in these spaces will convey my own feelings during this strange time; they will most likely provide a sense of nostalgia, but at the same time a sense of discomfort and sadness. Doing so with different materials I am used to seeing around my home will convey the sense of homemade emptiness that I aim to achieve.