Malleable Forms

Works by Makenzie Heinemann

BNSF Railway Gallery

February 23 - April 4, 2024

Malleable Forms is an ongoing painting exploration of touch and space. In this body of work,

Heinemann continues her journey to overcome the obstacles of separation by dissolving the

boundaries between self, environment, and all bodies in motion. “I blur land/body divisions and investigate the territory where magic and nature mingle. The movement of water lends itself to my work, much like the slow sculpting of mountains and caves. Through a spiritual painting process that emulates the physical practice of mediumship, I make work that references the natural world, but delays recognition.”

Heinemann’s large-scale, water-based paintings on raw canvas range from 4 to 9 feet tall,

enveloping the viewer in dreamlike landscapes that are meant to extend sensory experiences to include other bodies in the environment. “Through large-scale, water-based painting, my work straddles abstraction and figuration, blurs boundaries, and resists

stable structures. My work follows the tradition of female abstract expressionists and the Sublime, but it does not seek to overwhelm. Instead, it exists in spaces like a low

hum, requiring a sensitivity for viewing.”

Makenzie Heinemann is a Dallas-based visual artist. She completed her MFA in Studio Art at Florida State University and BFA in Painting at Arizona State University. Her work consists of large paintings on raw canvas, created on the floor through layers of water and water-soluble media and smaller fiber paintings on wood. Recently she has mounted a solo show at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve in Atlanta and participated in the 33oc residency in Toffia, Italy. Makenzie Heinemann currently serves on the Visual Arts faculty at The Episcopal School of Dallas and maintains a studio practice in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas.