Theresa Abel in conversation with S.V. Medaris on her solo exhibition Looking Up For S.V. Medaris Looking up is both literal and directional.

While creating this new body of work Medaris has been thinking about the state of the world and that can seem overwhelming. She decided that after you’ve done what you can to fight power with truth, then fight back with optimism by creating. “Making art and hope go hand in hand ; I can’t have one without the other.” I need both to survive.” This new body of work, comprised of oil paintings and prints, celebrates the beauty and joy in this world which can be an act to resist despair. In some of the pieces the characters are literally looking up physically in the vista or in others the scene’s viewpoint is looking up into the sky; another metaphor for hope. Medaris lives on a farm in the Driftless area of Southern Wisconsin with her family, where she raises dogs, cats,