Artist Statement
As someone who lives with a Traumatic Brain Injury, words are sometimes extremely difficult to find. However, I can express my exact thoughts and emotions in what I choose to create. Then in March of 2020, I found out I have a rare hereditary inflammatory disorder that causes severe joint pain and swelling. This all has caused me to adapt my practice to accommodate my ever-changing health. The days of drawing with a ruling pen are over, but I've expanded into more creative ways to create.
Art is not just something beautiful for me to make. It has become a healing form of communication between me and the viewer. My “disability” has become my muse, my mentor, which has allowed for this ever-evolving style of contemporary abstract expressionism I never knew I could create.
Artist Bio
Loretta Oberheim is an established artist, originally from Hauppauge, New York widely acknowledged for her tactile, three-dimensional artwork. Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Textile Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2006, Oberheim has had a successful career in the high-end floorcovering industry, which she has incorporated into her art.
Her work, an evolving exploration of mental health and her disabilities draws inspiration from her training as a carpet designer, abstract expressionism, and the street art of NYC. These influences have steered her years-long study into the intricacies of her own identity and mental health.
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With pieces exhibited around the globe, Oberheim's art is featured in respected venues such as the Haegeumgang Theme Museum, the Belskie Museum of Art, Tortuga Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Long Island, and One Art Space Gallery. Her work has also been featured on TLC's show "Unpolished".
Her narrative and artistic evolution have been covered in various blogs and publications, including Faces of Long Island, TBR News Media, and The Art Queens AQ Quarterly - Volume 1.
Oberheim’s studio can be found in her home on Long Island where she creates with her trusty studio supervisors, her dogs.
Contact
I'm always open for new and exciting opportunities to discuss my art and why I create. Let's connect.