Desiree Crossing (b.1981) is an Australian contemporary painter based in Perth, Western Australia. Specialising in portraiture, Desiree’s sumptuous oil paintings speak to classical painting traditions whilst embodying an unmistakably modern spirit. Her tendency to covert symbolism and the uncanny directness of the paintings set up a feeling of flickering between the exposed and the concealed in any relationship, hinting towards the powerful connection between character, comfort with disclosure and dynamics of personal boundaries. Her featured artwork reimagines Ingres’ 1814 Grande Odalisque, replacing the problematic portrayal of an indentured servant as a concubine with performer Lola Moore from the burlesque show Pupperotica. Where the original distorted feminine beauty with unnatural proportions, Desiree presents a real woman in natural proportions, emphasizing female autonomy and sexuality on her own terms while critiquing art history’s male-dominated perspective.

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