Theresa Daddezio imagines hybridizations of human and botanic lifeforms, creating harmonies through the language of abstraction. The artist takes inspiration from the concept of plant mimicry–– in which a plant evolves to resemble another plant, often to attract pollinators or deter predators. In the paintings, organic forms take on synthetic colors and textures, complicating the boundaries between the natural and artificial. Daddezio’s paintings offer an optimistic vision of an interconnected future in spite of ecological destruction and stress, finding potential in our shared ability to adapt.

Motifs emerge in the work: undulating linework can be read as vascular systems, blooming petals appear at once organic and artificial. These hybrid entities vibrate with energy and appear able to breathe, flow, weep, reproduce. Daddezio achieves this sense of vitality by experimenting with the conventions of color theory: earthen tones meet bright synthetic pigments, metallic planes are bordered by deep aquatic blues and greens. 

In this new body of work, organic elements are cross-bred with textures that evoke electronic systems, reflecting the lens through which we view our surrounding environments. Daddezio assembles digital collages from her initial drawings, which through a process of revision and intuition become a framework for the painting. The act of cutting and pasting together elements recalls the work of splicing and rewriting genes, human modifications to the natural world that shortcut the pace of evolution, leading to both feelings of discomfort and possibilities for visual wonder.

In Foxtail (2022), cyan-colored linework oscillates across the canvas, creating a glitch-like feed of visual information that assembles into a totemic form. Space is bisected into flat planes and disrupted by unnaturally vibrant, floral shapes that bloom outward, giving the illusion of depth. While the composition reflects the arrangement of a collage, handmade qualities emerge upon viewing. These painterly details, which the artist calls “ways to encapsulate time,” constitute a record of the painting’s making through the application of thin glazes and the meticulous detail required to draw the energetic lines.

Press release and images via DC Moore Gallery.