Alice Tippit
Dress
2019
Oil on canvas
18 x 22 inches
Photo credit: Evan Jenkins

THE BLANK CONTEMPORARY ART
99 WORDS WITH ALICE TIPPIT

I often think about the physicality of a painting as akin to that of a seashell. Both are composed of layers of thin liquid that hardens with time. Consider the Xenophoridae, a class of sea snail that attaches objects, mostly other shells, to its own at regular intervals. The effect is not unlike a crown, with spikes that are unappealing to predators. Paintings have no such need to deter. Instead they extend an invitation, though what you’ll get out of it depends on what you bring with you. The attachments are of our own making.