Mary Porterfield

Porterfield has exhibited both nationally and internationally at venues including the Lim Lip Museum in South Korea, Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego Art Institute, Hyde Park Art Center, Kohler Arts Center, Figge Art Museum, Dubuque Art Museum, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Rockford Art Museum, and Weatherspoon Art Museum. Solo shows have included the Hofheimer Gallery (Chicago, IL) and Packer-Schopf Gallery.


Artist Statement

My drawings depict my mother’s struggle to care for my father, who had Parkinsonism and was homebound. The life-sized images, which are cut out and attached to the wall, represent the mounting difficulties my parents faced, made worse by the pandemic. I overlap translucent layers to signify my father’s gradual evanescence and my mother’s loss of identity as she became increasingly consumed with his care. By layering semitransparent film, I hope to symbolize the transformation that my parents endured. As my father’s cognizance became less clear, my mother had to cope with his release. Since his passing, her physical hardship is lighter, but the vastness of the wall remains as a witness to the magnitude of her loss and the depth of her love.


www.maryporterfield.com