Katie Butler: Pomp and Circumstance Katie Butler’s politically charged paintings of opulent campaign dinners harp on the problematic nature of legislating on behalf of the average citizen from a detached framework of privilege. The dining table, as the nexus in which “bread and butter” issues are discussed, sets the stage for ostentatious displays of lobster, caviar, and oysters on the half shell against the backdrop of run-of-the-mill checkered tablecloths. Her use of foreshortened and bird’s-eye view perspectives combined achieves a dimensional flattening of pictorial space, disinviting viewers from inhabiting these seemingly seductive tableaus, which are meant to feel fraught, contrived, and otherworldly. Amidst the pageantry of executive seals and fine china, the company card paying the check provides an unsettling dose of reality - a reminder that corporate meal write-offs are designed by and intended to benefit only those who are seated at the table. Michael Childress: HUB For his exhibition, Childress presents modular canvases from a never before shown body of work entitled Bridges and Tunnels. Consisting of rectangular units that are spaced and stacked vertically in combinations of three or four registers, the series explores languages of minimalism and geometric abstraction as ways to embody and delineate space. Each horizontal bracket forms a kind of grammatical syntax equipped with punctuated voids, bearing likeness to solid and broken lines that encompass trigrams of the I Ching. With his signature staining technique, Childress ushers his viewers across his surfaces through subtle transitions between hues, joining left and right, top to bottom, inward and outward.
New York City, NY; NYC