ABOUT

Callie Coccia, b. 1998, is an artist originally from Cullman, Alabama. She received a joint BFA in painting and art history from the Pennsylvania Academy of the fine arts and the University of Pennsylvania. She lived and worked in Philadelphia as an educator and artist prior to her time at RISD’s Painting MFA. 

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My top priority is always finding the funniest way to say something. I want the work to always be generating uncomfortable laughs. The work presents humorous and horrific perspectives on gender, sexuality, and culture. It explores my personal experiences with social norms surrounding the body, and investigates the notion of Camp in contemporary contexts. Some of the topics of interest include fashion, pop- and subculture, horror, and anatomical and gendered representations. The soft sculptures combine the cartoon and macabre, finding unexpected common ground between the comedic and grotesque.