"The Power of Serena Williams" By Katrina Majkut

The Power of Serena Williams is part of the series titled Game Changers. The series celebrates women-identifying athletes who have achieved great athletic success but have also overcome significant bias and discrimination only to positively change their respective games, the sports industry, and become leaders in their field and beyond. The portraits celebrate the athletes' strength, perseverance, power, athleticism, and leadership. The series references but rejects the little known art historical movements of Woman Power portraits, which dictated that portraits of women in positions of power were only permissible if they mimicked preexisting masculine roles/portraits. My painting approach rejects these limitations, masculine archetypes, and the male gaze. They aim to set new representational standards of women in power and with great strength. To create these images, the paintings are mixed media of oil, embroidery thread and craft materials.