Julie Heffernan, bringing Baroque back!

My last post made a mention of Julie Heffernan who is my favorite contemporary artist. Since she is amazing I thought I'd give her some shameless promotion because she uses art historical references in her work, some being from the 18th century. All her works are titled as self-portraits but in fact, most show a defrocked aristocratic woman of the past. This is because she believes anything an artist makes is a representation of self. Infanta Maria Teresa and Madame de Sade are two frequently depictions in her work, two interesting women whose lives are overshadowed by their extravagant husbands. Heffernan strips her figures and then forms a story in the detail of her painting, which only the keenest of minds may be able to pick up. These depicted stories weave a magnificent costume on the once neglected women, turning them into an extravagant display of beauty and nature. Her fantastic creations are comparable with rococo splendor and luckily for me, I can usually find her in my humble colonies.