BRIDGET O'ROURKE
Born in Philadelphia, PA
Lives and works in Philadelphia, PA.
Bridget O'Rourke was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She received her BFA from Moravian College in 2007. In 2011, She received her MFA from the prestigious Parsons: The New School for Design in Painting. She has shown her work both nationally and internationally. As well as being a professional artist, she is also a Hospital Outreach Specialist for Paul Newman's The Hole in The Wall Gang Camp, a non-profit organization that provides happiness and healing to both chronic and seriously ill children in and out of the hospital setting.
My hope, as a painter, is to bring something to light that has not been seen before. To create work in the studio that has a sense of humanity. As an artist, your role is to express some sort of frightened emotion that others are afraid to show. You must be able to sit in front of a canvas and have a connection to a raw piece of material. Painting is a way of showing a world that would otherwise remain invisible to others.
Louise Bourgeois said “Every day you have to abandon your past or accept it, and then, if you cannot accept it, you become a sculptor.” I followed her advice, except I became a painter. I think creating art is inherently narcissistic, but it can also be an avenue to connect to people who feel quite alone.