Stephanie L. Wills is an interdisciplinary artist, originally from Southington, Connecticut, currently living in Newport, Rhode Island. She will receive her BA in Studio Art from Salve Regina University in May 2025 and plans to go to graduate school to pursue a career as an art professor. Her work has been showcased in multiple exhibitions such as a solo artist salon hosted by the Newport Artist Collective and the Turning Pages Exhibition for a library space, both in Newport, Rhode Island. Additionally, her work has been shown throughout her college career in the Best of Salve Students show where she has also achieved recognition for her paintings in 2022 and 2024. 

Artist Statement:

“As an interdisciplinary artist, I work in a combination of oil paints and ceramics. Whether it is sculpting a three dimensional portrait bust or painting a two dimensional portrait, my work explores the contemporary female experience. From a young age, I was taught that my value was tied to how I looked. How much I weighed, how I dressed, and whether I fit into the standards of beauty set by the media and society. I was told that I would never be a “real woman” because of my body, and as a result, I began to view my body as something that needed to be controlled or reshaped to fit in. As I grew older, I began to recognize how deeply these patriarchal norms and values had been ingrained in me, shaping my self-image and sense of identity. The idea that women must constantly strive to meet a particular aesthetic standard is still pervasive today, and it remains one of the primary influences of my work. My art became a way to process the tension between my own experience as a woman and the oppressive factors I was taught to uphold. Today, I use my interdisciplinary practice to address and challenge these deeply embedded societal expectations. I make uncomfortable, self-representations of the female to take my power back and to help other women who share the same experiences feel empowered to do the same.”