Heidi Peelen Brooks Exhibit: Venus in Polyester

The opening of Heidi Peelen Brooks’ exhibit, don’t worry! Her amazing paintings are up in our Vault Gallery through Saturday, February 6 – 28.  Venus in Polyester reimagines the goddess of love within a world of synthetic fabrics, broken appliances, and carefully curated vacations. Through saturated ballpoint-and-acrylic scenes, the series follows middle-class women from girlhood to old age as they lounge, pose, and persevere with humor and grace—doing farm chores in lipstick and house shoes, wrapped in polyester that feels both like armor and aspiration. Blending playful yet pointed commentary on femininity and leisure, the works incorporate rhinestones, buttons, and glitter, blurring the line between fine art and craft while celebrating—and gently critiquing—the beauty and absurdity of domestic life.