Shana Nys DambrotPainter Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman likes to take her time with things. She’s chosen a material and technique closely resembling the delicate oil pigment and egg-tempera practices of Old Master-era art history; it requires a multitude of patiently applied, gossamer-thin layers to build up a physical, inherent luminosity and delicate depth. But she lavishes this labor on a more modern, if still fantastical, narrative set having to do with the unwieldy power of girls on the cusp of womanhood. Sullivan-Beeman imagines and populates a realm of characters and animal spirits, having storybook, time-traveling, lantern-lit adventures across psychological landscapes and somewhat steam-punk style settings. Her current exhibition at La Luz de Jesus is her most ambitious suite of images and immersive installation design yet. The gallery hosts a talk with the artist and arts writer Genie Davis on October 20.
L.A. WEEKLY: When did you first know you were an artist?
DEIRDRE SULLIVAN-BEEMAN: I knew when I was really little. My mother was an artist and I spent all my time in a small room she called the project room. We didn’t have TV, so I would completely and totally lose track of time in there painting and collaging. Collage was my first love in making art and I still use many of its principles and inspirations in my work. To this day, I have to set alarms when I paint because I still get in that zone where nothing exists except the art in front of me.
Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman: Ascending Girl
What is your short answer to people who ask what your work is about?
I’m always investigating the same moment — the moment when a girl has become a woman. It’s the moment when the light-switch flips on for the first time. It’s not inevitably sexual; but sex often comes to the foreground in interaction with each female character’s daemon, an animal companion who is almost always male.
What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?
I would likely return to a past life in event design. It allowed me to create truly immersive worlds, which still feels like my principal goal in painting. In ways, Heavy Water at La Luz de Jesus Gallery is the most direct offspring of that I’ve been able to produce yet. The aim is for viewers to feel a bit like they’re swimming through the show, and an interactive installation that’s been designed in collaboration with multimedia artist Gina M. makes this feel like the most immersive work I’ve created so far.
Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman: Giraffe Girl
Did you go to art school? Why/Why not?
Growing up surrounded by my mother’s art career, I realized I needed something different for myself. When I graduated high school, I had been painting my whole life, and decided to turn down a full ride to Pratt. I wasn’t sure what else I wanted, but I knew I wanted to be in California, so I went to film school at USC. The scenic design work was my favorite. In my art now, I still feel a lot like I’m working with three-dimensional characters in front of two-dimensional backgrounds.
I feel like I attempted to avoid professional fine art as long as I could. At a certain point, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. After a career in event design, I let myself dive into studying the art and artists I looked up to. The late Robert Venosa was one of my first and primary mentors. He was a disciple of Ernst Fuchs, the creator of Mischtechnik, a modified oil and egg tempera method that became my primary practice. Studying under artists I deeply respect afforded me the practical knowledge and drive that I feel have most benefited my work in the long term.
Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman: Heavy Water, installation view (La Luz de Jesus)
When is/was your current/most recent/next show?
Heavy Water, a solo at La Luz de Jesus, opened on October 4 and runs through October 27; and I have two upcoming group shows at Haven Gallery, Little Big in December and Allegory in 2020.
What artist living or dead would you most like to show with?
Dali is my hero. His themes inspire me incredibly deeply. While I studied with Robert Venosa, who was Dali’s assistant, I heard the most absolutely ludicrous stories. I think he was utterly crazy and a complete genius; I dream of even sharing the same air with him.
Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman: Moon Girl
Do you listen to music while you work? If so what?
I don’t often listen to music, but I always have something playing and love anything super fanciful. I must have listened to Harry Potter on tape 50 times by now. I’m obsessed with Coast to Coast. Esoteric and bizarre audio really fuels my process.
Website and social media handles, please!
Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman: Finding Marylin Girl
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