Cosmic Imaginarium (2024-)

Steiger’s memories of her childhood growing up in the 1950s find themselves in the whimsical, yet mysterious expression of what lives in outer space. In Cosmic Imaginarium, Steiger picks up where Sci-Fi leaves off, with both a reignited passion for color and use of dotting to depict dynamic life force in outer space and beyond. In conjunction with textures and patterns, Steiger turns Cosmic Imaginarium’s flat, two-dimensional collage compositions into three-dimensional stories through the labor intensive technique of shaping and layering multiple levels of mixed media.  

Unlike the more eerie early work of Sci-Fi, Cosmic Imaginarium’s combination of science fiction elements with pop-art imagery brings the unknown to life and reminds the viewer of life’s fantastical and fun nature, while still revering the magnitude of cosmic space. In several of Cosmic Imaginarium’s works, Steiger was inspired by both occurrences in the cosmos during supernova events, as well as vintage postage stamps in order to create a three-dimensional world of life in space on the canvas. As is expressed throughout the series, she uses reversed imagery for balance, playing with how both mirroring and slight variation complement one another in overall aesthetic and tone.

 Steiger hopes to encourage a cross-cultural understanding of how we all strive to understand our existence through her paintings and collages. Both Sci-Fi and Cosmic Imaginarium are continual nods to what lives beyond our human reality here on Earth. The work expresses the ever-evolving interconnectedness of the universe and the progression of human consciousness, while also offering an accessible and hopeful tone that brings imagination closer to the forefront of our shared reality.