The Comfort of My Own Home

Miranda Whalen

May 29th through June 21st

Miranda Whalen

Lawrence, KS

Artist Statement 

­“The Comfort of My Own Home” is a collection of oil paintings and mixed media that embark themes of light, growth, familiarity, pattern, reflection, and human connection to nature and domestic spaces. I am interested in a certain tendency we have as humans, we inevitably live our lives through habit. Whether that’s a subconscious or active decision, these personal rituals shape us into who we are. My work offers a visual representation of the mental push and pull of disrupting comfortability in order to grow. My pieces consist mainly of abstractions of natural forms, both figures and plants. With these motifs I use shape, color, and light to evoke a sense of comfort versus discomfort. I use greens to signify hope and growth in contrast with various shades of purple that represent anxiety and turmoil. These paintings are all characterizations of my current personal mental state; I am striving to learn to find comfort within discomfort, all the while allowing myself to continue to seek peace in the domestic and natural forms of the world.

Artist Biography

Miranda Whalen is a first generation college student. She currently lives in Lawrence, KS where she received her BFA in Visual Art with a minor in art history at the University of Kansas. Miranda works with various media but primarily works in oil paint. She was born in Nebraska but moved to Weston, Missouri at a very young age. Growing up in the Midwest, specifically in a small town of 1500 people, has impacted narratives and themes within her work. Living in a small community led to a family and nature centered lifestyle. She has a very close relationship to her mom, plants, and cats- which are all common motifs in her work. In 2026 she was chosen to display work for the Juried Undergraduate exhibition at Albrecht Kemper Museum, presented her senior thesis show at the Offsite Gallery, and participated in the senior exhibition in the Edgar Heap of Birds on campus at the University of Kansas. Miranda plans to continue studying painting at a graduate level in the near future, but until then will continue to create works inspired by human connection to nature and domestic spaces.

You can view Miranda's work in the Upper West gallery at the Phoenix Gallery