Begun in early 2016, this body of work is comprised of paintings completed during the first administration of Donald Trump and in its aftermath. As we find ourselves at the beginning of a second Trump term, I feel a sense of déjà vu.

I was raised in a very religious community which has become increasingly nationalistic as well. In this kind of environment, the use of symbols is incredibly important. All of my work utilizes imagery that will be easily recognized by my neighbors, and can be interpreted through the lens under which they view it. There is no other symbol that is so easily identified as the American flag. As a flat symbol, its reading is effortless. It does not require reflection or introspection. It is like an order barked and then obeyed. But my flags are figural; they give shape to ideas and ask the viewer to contemplate how those ideas come alive in the world. They are an indictment as well as a declaration of hope.

Each painting is an exploration of the American flag as a symbol and as a figure alive with the ideals and flaws with which we as a nation have grappled. Three of the works presented are simple compositions. The flag is folded, crumpled, and bent into different positions to give the object volume and suggest the presence of a figure. The flags are juxtaposed with text taken from documents and songs that embody patriotic sentiments or speak to the founding principles of the nation. In the other works, blind-contour-based figures wear the flag and act as an exploration of my own struggle to come to terms with the diversity of thought in our nation. I often find that I cannot reconcile what I was taught about liberty, patriotism, goodness, or morality with what is actually being done in the name of those ideas. I have been asking myself how a nation that is in agreement about words can be in such disagreement about action.
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Maureen O’Keefe - Biography

Maureen O’Keefe is a portrait and figure painter living and working in mid-western Ohio. Her work investigates identities, values, and belonging, often in a religious or political context. Maureen received her Bachelor of Fine Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2005. She is a recipient of the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for FY2019 and has exhibited widely. In January of 2023 Maureen was an artist in residence at the Chateau Orquevaux in Orquevaux, France.  She is employed as the Marketing Coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Miami and Shelby Counties, in addition to teaching Drawing as an Adjunct at Edison State Community College in Piqua, Ohio.