“Chimera,” a New Work from Erin Milez
Pittsburgh-born, Seattle-based painter Erin Milez returns to Monya Rowe Gallery with a razor-sharp series that challenges the myth of “perfect” motherhood. Inspired by Lucy Jones’ notion of the maternal “chimera” is a self-forever split between who she was and who she’s become. Milez paints the push-and-pull of parenting with equal parts tenderness and bite. Everyday scenes morph into half-familiar, half-feral tableaux: think diapers, dishes, and midnight feedings rendered with the surreal intensity of Tetsuya Ishida’s factory workers or the canine metamorphosis of Amy Adams’ character in Nightbitch.
The result is a vivid, unsettling beauty: chaos you can almost hear, exhaustion you can practically feel, and moments of fragile intimacy that keep everything from tipping into despair. Milez reminds us that raising children gracefully is a fantasy, and there’s unexpected freedom in embracing the mess.
