What is my work about?
In this new body of work, I use gouache, acrylic, and rolled house paint on linen to produce matte surfaces. I want the paintings to be as matte as possible so that there is an implicit restraint embedded in the work, which creates a tension between the absurdist imagery and the way it is painted. Most recently, “Mr. Heart Man,” a cartoon heart with arms and legs, is the central character in an open-ended narrative I am developing. “Mr. Heart Man” inhabits a flat space filled with abstracted artist palettes that resemble theatre curtains or gambling cards. I use simplified form, cartooning, intuited color, and repetition as tools to create paintings that are psychologically charged. I’m interested in the relationship between “Mr. Heart Man” and his odd, satirical environment. Despite the paintings straightforward appearance, it is my intention to evoke a peculiar mystery that engages and challenges the viewer.
Artist Statement
These paintings depict curtain-like painter’s palettes, which also suggest gambling cards being shuffled at a casino. These “palettecurtains” or “palettecards” set the stage for “Mr. Heart Man,” the only inhabitant of many of these psychologically charged landscapes. “Mr. Heart Man” is a cartoon heart with arms, legs, whitegloved hands and black shoes. He is indicative of Mickey Mouse, a mischievous, cheeky, and forgetful personality.
Other works introduce a toy crow character. He wears black, yellow, red, and white attire, also reminiscent of Mickey Mouse. The crow seems to be playing dead or floating around aimlessly in space. The palettecurtains in the work suggest an arena or stage where these characters perform explicitly for the viewer. They are putting on a show, but one can imagine that off stage there is melancholy. When I began to paint “Mr. Heart Man” black instead of red, I intentionally wanted to push and explore these darker implications. I’m interested in using color sparingly in order to examine the psychological potential that exists in color relationships within a painted surface.
I use gouache, acrylic, and rolled house paint on linen to produce surfaces that are as matte as possible. I want to create a tension between the way the work is painted and what is depicted. There is a storyboard quality to the work that takes its cues from comic book methodology, yet there is no specific story, which gives the work a deadpan quality and also places it in a context that is more indicative of conceptual approaches. Like a gambler with his poker face on, what isn’t revealed is as important as what is.
CV
EDUCATION
BA, Sarah Lawrence College: 2003 – 2007.
The Putney School: 1999 – 2003.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2014
Michael Thibault Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2014
Tisch Abelow and Peter Harkawik, Freddy Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2011
Tisch Abelow and Orion Martin, Manifest Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
2010
Brother/Sister, with Joshua Abelow, Grizzly Grizzly, Philadelphia, PA
2007
10 Pizzas, with Matt Connolly. ASpace Gallery, Bronxville, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2014
Edge of Continuation, Pablo’s Birthday, New York, NY
Little Naussau, Brooklyn, NY
2013
Splazitch, Side Effects Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
New Paintings By, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, NY
Draw Gym, 247365/KnowMoreGames, Brooklyn, NY
Splonk, 106 Green, Brooklyn, NY
2012
A LA CARTE, MINIMAL ART, Shoot the Lobster, New York, NY
Can’t Stop Rock Lobster, Shoot the Lobster, New York, NY
Dallas Art Fair with Horton Gallery, New York, NY
2011
Summer Salt, The Proposition, New York, NY
Between This Light and That and Space, Minus Space, Brooklyn, NY
Control Alt Delete, HKJB, Brooklyn, NY
The Working Title, Bronx River Art Center, New York, NY
2010
Burns Slower, Threeperson exhibition, SPACE Gallery, Portland, ME
Power to the People¨ Feature Inc., New York, NY
CURATORIAL
2014
Skit¨The Hole, New York, NY
2010
Can I Get a Witness?, ART BLOG ART BLOG, curated with Dakotah Savage and Jashin Friedrich.
PROJECTS
2013
AH HOLE AH HOLE: Freedom Triangle (PDF), Petrella’s Imports, NY, NY
suzannegeiss.net: AH HOLE AH HOLE, Suzanne Geiss, New York, NY
AH HOLE AH HOLE: Moist Towelettes, Petrella’s Imports, New York, NY