Dorielle Caimi’s portraits of women are psychologically complex, honest, and often disturbing. We’re excited to announce that our Fall 2013 issue will feature one of Caimi’s paintings, Until Proven Innocent, on the cover.
In an interview with Combustus, Caimi explains her attraction to the female nude:
As a female artist, I can’t seem to escape the subject that I most innately relate to: women. People tell me that I should paint more men, but the truth is, I’m painting from my own psyche, which manifests itself in the female form … I think women are beautiful creatures who make the most sensual of subjects, but I’d like to add something more to that sensuality: intellect, self-respect, intuition, sensitivity, humor, etc.
There is much to admire in Caimi’s paintings—their purely aesthetic appeal, their technical achievement—but there is also something uncanny about them. Caimi embraces this strangeness, insisting that our encounter with the best art ought to be discomforting: “it’s only when we are uncomfortable that we are forced to delve deeper within ourselves … [to] bring out parts of us we didn’t know we had.”
Dorielle Caimi was raised in New Mexico. Her mother is Hispanic and one of thirteen siblings, whose family goes back over ten generations in New Mexico. Her father is Italian-American and a second generation artist. Her early training began with her father’s instruction. In 2003, she began studying painting at Central New Mexico Community College, followed by a few semesters at the University of New Mexico. She then transferred to Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2010 with a BFA in painting.