History all too often snubbed women who were ready to do battle for recognition of their work. All the more reason, then, for their ever-advancing artistic fortitude. Contemporary women artists are standing their ground—even on the walls. Beverly McCutcheon’s mixed-media collages are sensual “Wallflowers,” as she ironically calls them. Who am I? What’s my name? What is my purpose? Questions leap to the fore of McCutcheon’s passionate style. Each of her portraits serves up a slice of the universal soul. And their truth keeps marching on.

Beverly McCutcheon, a staunch New Jerseyan of East Orange, synthesizes images of women, some floating in their unique environments, others meditating, striving for unmitigated beauty or simply to be seen and heard. A graduate of Fisk University in Tennessee who has studied with artists including Jonathan Talbot, David Driscoll, and Martin Puryear, McCutcheon has exhibited work throughout New Jersey, New York City, and in New Orleans. The mother of two, McCutcheon emanates a powerful force that lodges in human consciousness. So much of the human condition emerges in her complex paintings, sculptures and collages. You can hear incorrigible determination when she says, “I don’t even care if people think my work is good or bad. I’ve GOT to do it anyway!”
—Tova Navarra