Tara Eve Good
American Artist born in New Jersey (1970- ) is a mutidisciplinary artist specializing in a vocabulary of techniques merging issues of time, nostalgia, decay and urbanity. Through an abstract language of marks and gestures laid over richly colored surfaces, Good explores her own autobiography documenting the textures of a life that has involved numerous career ventures, travels and now motherhood, as well as battles with multiple sclerosis and leukemia. Wood and other ephemera, collected locally, blend the actual with the virtual, reflecting the ambiguity of memory, musing on life down by the shore, past and present. Critic Allison Hersch (Savannah Morning News) praises Good’s “uncanny mastery of composition” of her past works in galleries from Savannah GA, Jacksonville FL, Ocean City, NJ Stone Harbor, NJ Avalon, NJ Richmond, VA Philadelphia, PA and now locally in her hometown of Sea Isle City. Commitments to family and health has made local venues an exclusive area for Good and she is happy if the work is simply seen & enjoyed by those who appreciate the local references in her imagery. Her studio is nearby, where she also lives with her daughter, as they enjoy the Indigenous garden instillation in their front yard. Old surfboards, an antique iron fence, and many parts from the old homes that were, inevitably, torn down as progress redefines new childhood memories. This is arguably one of the many unique creations that celebrates growing up down the shore.
“To live is to tell where one has been and artists have a magical way of displaying inspiration so others can decide their own paths. I use the materials I find in the areas I’m creating in and sometimes have to find substitutions to protect the delicate balance of nature of our limited resources. Artists spend many hours collecting information from territories and assemble a new habitat that will, potentially, have a life beyond the artist’s possession. Art represents ideals and inspires by becoming part of one’s journey in life and then it can become part of another’s story. We are all collectors of items that define who we are, what we value, and what inspires us. It is the link that keeps us all together and can even tear us apart. Art can be that powerful. Sometimes it just matches the couch. Art represents ideals and inspires. It becomes part of one’s journey in life and then it can become part of another’s story. A masterpiece has generations of caretakers who value the position of caring for a work of art, understanding the provenance, and having a connection to the piece itself, and then they become part of the artwork. All of this importance is tied to a moment in history. A living memory of a time and place. W. S. Burroughs stated, “In order to feel something, you have to be there” and I believe if an artist can really capture something, they’ve had to have been there to express it. The work I’ve created, while living on this tiny barrier island, is a protest to windows that have the view of another window. My art is that window into one own’s imagination, where the real journey & dreams are captured.”
–TARA GOOD