American painter Dorielle Caimi turns her attention to the female nude in Complex Candy, a series of works in oil bringing together traditional portraiture, classical and religious themes and the problems of modern living. Her subjects, often self-portraits, are not sexualized or idealized; instead they display all the flaws of reality, right down to the tan lines. Into Caimi’s scenes crash surreal manifestations of anxiety, interlopers that bring about the troubled expressions that cloud the features of the female figures.

So what is it that’s bothering them? Therein lies one of the secrets to the success of Complex Candy, for along with the accessible and sometimes humorous use of bright colours, Caimi shows that her worries are broadly the same as everyone else’s. Guilt about diet and lifestyle, self-image concerns and motherhood worries all rear their ugly heads, and speaking of which, if that baby’s bowling ball bonce is to scale it’s no wonder there is something of a frown troubling the countenance of the poor woman in Concave. Gusford Gallery in Los Angeles is the place to see Complex Candy between 7 March and 19 April.

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Dorielle Caimi,
The Weight, 2011,
oil on canvas,
36 x 24 in.
Courtesy of the artist
and GUSFORD | los angeles

Dorielle Caimi,
Concave, 2013,
oil on canvas,
48 x 30 in.
Courtesy of the artist
and GUSFORD | los angeles

Dorielle Caimi,
Would Be Something Else, 2011
oil on linen,
46 x 30 in.
Courtesy of the artist
and GUSFORD | los angeles

Dorielle Caimi, 2014.
Courtesy of the artist
and GUSFORD | los angeles