Beverly Semmes, collages found pornographic imagery to protect and explore the autonomy of the model. Scaling her FRP's (Feminist Responsibility Project) up from their magazine-sized origins, the paintings dwarf the viewer, adding new layers of power and presence to the compositions. Intimate studies of the female form that graced Penthouse's glossy pages become near-life-sized, forcing the viewer to reconcile their elevation from "low," pornographic beginnings to high-art.

In Eye on Blue (2024), Semmes’ longtime friend and muse Nikie stares out from this void, a maroon wash of color partially obscuring her identity. Round black sunglasses perch above eyes that meet the gaze of the viewer while a bisected brown eye conceals the lower half of her face, held precariously in place by two scraps of what appears to be Scotch tape. A jutting white shape of painterly origin covers Nikie’s decolletage, strategically placed to conceal her exposed breasts while cheekily taunting the viewer with a hint of flesh.