jozie Furchgott Sourdiffe
Art—a language through which I navigate loss and transformation. My paintings radiate with vivid hues, meticulous details, tactile textures, and gleaming gold accents, drawing viewers into a world that is both inviting and unsettling. When my love, Andy Williams, was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, my role as his partner expanded to caregiver. Hospital living and the intimate proximity to illness and death reshaped my perception of existence, forcing me to confront life’s impermanence and redefine my understanding of mortality.
My experience as a queer femme raised in the forests of Vermont reflects an intrinsic connection to life cycles, grief, healing, resilience, and the beauty and power of rebirth. Through landscapes, still lifes, self-portraits, and portraits of loved ones, I explore these themes in the literal—such as the journey through illness and dying—and metaphorical—such as rebirth through reclaiming bodily autonomy or nature’s endurance in the face of human destruction. My work examines how these experiences manifest differently depending on identity, ancestral history, and how these journeys fuel the unique inherent power that we all possess, inviting the viewer to reflect on their own connections to these cycles.
My paintings portray the story of the subject through animals, landscapes and botanicals that are steeped in symbolism. What first appears as a shimmering oasis, gradually reveals more complex, often darker realities— hospital paraphernalia, hunted animals, or industrial pollution woven into lush landscapes. These contrasts create a space where beauty and discomfort coexist, allowing the viewer to confront difficult themes within a visually captivating framework. By creating work that sparks dialogue and encourages introspection, it creates a pathway for the viewers to process and heal in a connected communal setting rather than in isolation.
I draw inspiration from artists who channel personal and political narratives into their work. Frida Kahlo’s raw storytelling through self-portraiture resonates deeply, as seen in The Broken Column. Kahlo’s ability to confront the painful with honesty while simultaneously portraying the beauty has informed my practice by demonstrating how to be vulnerable in sharing my authentic truth no matter how difficult the subject. Other influences include the revolutionary visual language of Elizabeth Catlett and Emory Douglas. Art has the power to heal, to challenge, and to shift culture; it is this transformative potential that fuels my practice.