The paintings and drawings in Lovey Loverson, Maureen Cavanaugh’s first solo show in New York, depict a fantastical female world while dealing with the immediacy of contemporary love, isolation and fear. Cavanaugh’s self referencing paintings are built up of washy acrylic layers. Influenced by contemporary Japanese painting and animation, Maureen’s big eyed girls dwell in dreamlike scenes of nature, animals and the promise/threat of romance. The lush, sweet imagery captures fleeting moments of childlike innocence and ecstasy. Tension presents itself in the form of intrusion from the outside world.

Maureen’s work has been featured at the University of Illinois and the Colby College Museum of Art. Originally from Omaha, Neb., Cavanaugh moved to Brooklyn in 2001 after finishing a BFA at the College of Santa Fe.