July 5, 2023 – August 31, 2023

Art Opening Reception: Friday, July 7, 2023 / 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm @ 12 Vassar Street

Tail by Jill Ziccardi

Jill Ziccardi’s artwork is influenced by nature and symbolism, domesticity, satire and American slang language that calls attention to our own absurd and harmful associations about being “female” and “male”. Mocking past and present stereotypes with humor and irony, her images expose the disconnect between the sexes, and the bias that is embedded in our common language and in our psyche.  “As a young artist, I was inspired by a seemingly unremarkable 20 second experience when, one day, I stepped into an elevator full of men and one of them was discussing his affections for a woman he enthusiastically referred to as a ‘hot little tomato!’, Ziccardi recants. “The image of a sexy woman as a tomato amused me, offended me and ignited my sassy sense of humor…I grew up in an ethnic Italian family and the image of a tomato was especially meaningful for it was a term used to objectify and devalue ‘the female’.” This chance encounter opened up a Pandora’s box of ideas that Ziccardi is still executing and sourcing from today, and likely indefinitely. Her arsenal of images is commonly known and quite varied (Chick, Skirt, Bombshell, Prick, Nuts, Bunny, Tail, etc…) and is reappropriated from slang language and reclaimed as her own. Jill Ziccardi