Absence–as a presence–looms large in the intimate paintings of Maria Teicher and Shawna Miller.

Arms Full is one part memento mori – for the present self, for the past self, and for the fleeting moments of a child’s growth – and one part meditation on the weight of motherhood. The visual dialogue created by these two painters floats many questions to the surface: Where does the “self” begin and end when a child arrives? What is found and what is lost? Some of the painting titles guide us in pointed directions while others are quite coded.

To have one’s arms full can simultaneously denote both abundance and burden. Placing these two artist mothers' pieces in conversation with each other amplifies the multifaceted nature of caregiving, connection, mourning, and the ephemerality of it all.