On Anxiety

Some artists make funny paintings, some make sexy paintings, and others make serious paintings. This however, is a group show about anxious paintings. The work in this exhibition was not created to help us deal with the anxiety we may have. Instead anxiety is baked into the work and is largely responsible for its content. This show may answer questions like, “What are some of the causes of anxiety and what does anxiety tell us about ourselves? Does anxiety have a purpose? Can it be funneled into something useful?” There is plenty to be anxious about right now– health care, immigration status, reproductive rights, and the environment are just a few subjects that might occupy your thoughts. But what about that low-grade, ever present anxiety, the kind that you wake up with and have learned to ignore? Soren Kierkegaard wrote extensively about that kind of anxiety and the danger of losing yourself. If you lose your wallet or your keys, it doesn’t take long to realize they’re missing, but when you lose yourself you can go months or even years without noticing.

Featuring work by: Matthew Bollinger, Alexander Bradley Cohen, Jennifer Dierdorf, Ethan Gill, Justin John Greene, Mika Horibuchi, Hai-Hsin Huang, Ben Murray, Veronika Pausova, Celeste Rapone and Brandi Twilley.

Artist Talk Moderated by Scott Hunter: Saturday October 6, 1 p.m.

Curated by Gwendolyn Zabicki