Geishas and high heels

Vanity comes in many forms. For Kelly O'Neal, they come in bright red high heels and eighteenth century geishas.

Painter Kelly O'Neal brought her exhibit, "Many Faces of Vanity," to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery last week. The show is part of the Collector's Gallery Series that will be on display through May 15.

Each of O'Neal's oil paintings is lathered with the greasy slime of vanity. But O'Neal cherishes her subject matter and chooses not to criticize the social evil.

"It's always fascinated me. I don't judge the vanity, I'm inspired by the vanity," O'Neal said.

Her paintings are focused on two themes: Japanese geishas and high heels. Her geishas are featured buttering themselves up with makeup, checking themselves out in a mirror, decked out in lavish dresses.

"Geishas are professional pleasurers. They are taught to make themselves up in the most pleasing ways possible. They are appealing, even to someone who's Western," O'Neal said.

O'Neal was dressed in a peach-colored kimono at the reception for her gallery. She stood out in the crowd of men wearing dark sport jackets and designer ties and with women in classy pantsuits.

It's obvious that there's a major Asian influence in her life and work. That influence turns out to be a man named Kitagawa Utamaro.

Utamaro's been dead since the early nineteenth century, but his influence on O'Neal is immeasurable. He was a renowned printmaker and painter in eighteenth century Japan. He was a master of the art of Ukiyo-e, a Japanese term for woodblock prints.

Much of O'Neal's gallery consists of a series called "Utamaro's Reigning Beauties." The series features Utamaro's geishas painted in their vain ways.

O'Neal's secondary theme in "Many Faces of Vanity" was high heels. O'Neal painted enormous high heels, coated with a shiny and lustrous consistency. The glamour of the heels gave O'Neal another facet of vanity to brush onto the canvas.

The titles of the shoe paintings range from "It's Not Easy Being a Glamourpuss" to "You Know You Want Me Back." It may sound like the shoes have the mindset of some upper-class vainglorious trophy wife. However, such a cultural critique may not have been what O'Neal was aiming to convey.

"I'm poking fun at pop-culture and wallowing in it at the same time," O'Neal said.

O'Neal didn't just use the shoes for their vain quality. She used them because she had nothing better to paint.

"In art school you're always taught to paint what you know. It seemed obvious for me. I couldn't afford a model. The shoes just sit there. They are a comic relief that embodies my sense of humor," O'Neal said.

Though most of her work is produced with basic oil and linen, "Glamourpuss" was painted on frosted Mylar, a medium that is semi-transparent and can leave the ghosts of former paintings when erased.

The shoes were the crowd favorite.

"I like it because it's not just an ordinary thing. It's not my bag, but I think the shoes are great," said Fred Houston of East Aurora.

The exhibition, hosted by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery has been a dream come true for this aspiring artist.

"Albright-Knox is very close to my heart. I was 5 when I came here on a field trip. This is one of the most exciting moments of my life and here I am with my own work."

O'Neal's portion of the Collector's Gallery series at the Albright-Knox will be on display through May 15.