Love Letter For Miro

Bradley Biancardi

Alexander Deschamps

Austin Eddy

Marlene McCarty

Zoe Nelson

Penelope Umbrico

Fresh Window Gallery is pleased to present a group exhibition entitled Love Letter for Miro with works by artists Bradley Biancardi, Alexander Deschamps, Austin Eddy, Peter Fischli David Weiss, Marlene McCarty, Zoe Nelson, and Penelope Umbrico. This exhibition taps into a long tradition of the extraordinary and lasting appeal of the feline in art. From domesticated cats to mythic symbols of divinities, cats have inspired and enchanted artists throughout generations, spanning from Ancient Egypt to the whimsical abstractions of Joan Miró to the cats ubiquitous presence on the web. The works in this exhibition examine representations and beliefs of cats, from cuddly sofa companion to menacing predator, the feline’s quintessential character traits and exquisite form are educed in these compelling works in various media.

The two woodcut prints by Bradley Biancardi in this exhibition tell an intriguingly readable visual story of the intimate pictorial spaces of cat owners, while maintaining an element of ambiguity regarding the narrative subject-matter. Much like the character traits of felines his work creates a balance between humor, seriousness, and strangeness.

Alexander Deschamps’ diptych in this show plays with mirroring, color, and depth of field. With these processes he draws attention to idealized figures in works of art, and the representation of their innocent counterparts; a panther versus a housecat, or a nude versus a child.

At first glance, Austin Eddy’s colorful work The Cat, The Turtle, The Duck, And The World appears to be a representation of a feline deity. Closer inspection however reveals something uncertain and uncanny. The title subtly blurring the line between what we see and what we think we see. Eddy works very intuitively, gradually twisting personal representations and associations into playful and inviting pieces.

Büsi (Kitty) by the artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss is a simple and quiet video of a cat drinking milk.

Marlene McCarty’s work Big Red Pussy encompasses beauty and simplicity yet challenges our perception and meaning. In the early 90s she created works that are humorous and oblique with language; while also being a member of Gran Fury, the AIDS activist collective. Taking words for parts of the female body considered assaultive sexual slang and spelling them out in ornamental scripts, makes what are usually assumed to be male-generated obscenities look pretty.

In Scrolling Cats at Midnight, Zoe Nelson uses swatches of colors in a camouflage pattern that both evokes the glow and pixilation of an iphone screen at night, and the way that camouflage is used by humans or animals to blend in and out of space. Whether or not her subjects are surfing the web at night or daydreaming on a sleepy Sunday afternoon with a cat (Feline Fun), Nelson often plays with figure/ground slippage to create a sense of movement between where one is (literally or psychologically) and where one wants to be.

Penelope Umbrico’s work in the exhibition explores the cats ubiquitous presence on the web. Seen through our glass and plastic screens, the cat provides none of the positive attributes it has in the material world – no warmth, no satisfaction of touch. As aloof and mysterious on the web as it is in the material world, this semi-domestic animal (which mostly just tolerates us) becomes something entirely different on the web, something onto which we can map our own ideas about what/who it is. Like an indoor cat, the cat on the web has no place to escape, wander off, or hide—it’s confined in a bubble of our own cultural values and exchanges.