ABOUT THE ARTIST: Higgins O’Connor’s dissonant fairy tales are moral lessons that seem to have forgotten their point. Nine-foot tall rodent-like characters made of old blankets, mattress covers, doilies, and cement lean and lurch awkwardly. Her characters feel strangely familiar, they unnerve us in inexplicable ways that make us want to laugh and cry. They are horrific in a peculiar cartoony sort of way---preoccupied with internal, corporal concerns, tending to their fragile physical eco systems. Their eyes are burnt holes into a dark infinity. They live in a lawless, survivalist world.

Higgins O'Connor is proficient in both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional work. Lucy Puls, Chair of the UC Davis Art Department, describes her as a consummate draftsperson. Her drawings are delightful, slightly grim, and impressive. Her 3-dimensional works are commanding and would be whimsical, were it not for their tragic melancholy.

Higgins O’Connor completed her MFA degree in Studio Art at UC Davis in 2005. Among her notable professional accomplishments are an invitation to participate in the CUE Arts Foundation exhibition in New York City in 2006, participation in the MFA Biennale at the di Rosa Preserve in Napa, and exhibits in prominent regional venues, such as Southern Exposure, the Cream show at Arts Benicia, and Close Calls at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin.

She has twice been an artist-in-residence at the Kohler Company's Arts/Industry Program in Kohler, Wisconsin. She was the recipient of the Robert Arneson Fellowship, a Humanities Department Research Fellowship, and UC Davis Art Department Graduate Fellowships. She was also awarded the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation’s Master of Fine Arts Fellowship.