Tara Kopp

From modern architecture and design to home appliances and technology, Kopp’s work appropriates recognizable symbols to question expectations of adulthood around activities in the home. Through staging scenes with miniature models and dolls, Kopp’s oil paintings become a narrative device to address the personal, social, and cultural perspectives involving issues of connection and isolation.

My recent oil paintings depict daily urban life. I create architectural models with miniatures--dolls, furniture, and other objects I collect --which become scenes for the work. The doll-like characters are surrogates for the average urban dweller. Taking place in a modern apartment, the paintings provide a glimpse of daily choices from reading a newspaper to preparing a meal. I am interested in how the miniature objects recreate and mimic our lives; they are able to reveal an eerie sense of loneliness. Each painting is a page from a personal and intimate diary filled with mundane moments, silences, and uneasy encounters. Each prop tells a story, while the stark and fragmented structures build a tension among the characters.