The newest paintings by Michael Scott explore entirely different visual content and subject matter for the artist, the female figure in religion. More specifically, Scott probes the complex parallel roles of women by focusing on the Virgin Mary. Through montages of photographic images of religious iconography and contemporary women, he challenges the viewer to consider Mary beyond her role as the mother of God and religious Saint and contemplate her – and all women – in broader and more expansive roles as partner, lover, cultural icon and political figure. The radiance we associate with such iconography is achieved by printing the photographic images on stainless steel followed by a complex process of burnishing and over-painting – an all a new support, medium and process for Scott.
