Henry Gunderson

Shoes Etc. is Henry Gunderson’s second solo show with the gallery, consisting of five new paintings, a sculpture, and a charity shoe drive.

Where Gunderson initially presented paintings of montages that were diagrammatically exploded, he now reverses this logic in five new tightly constructed and skillfully rendered montages.

In each, a dense ecology of disparate players populate the contours of various shoes, serving as archetypes of individuality and personal branding. A sobriety sneaker, an educational trainer, a domesticated hiking boot, a prophetic sandal, and an office-tribal toe shoe (reminiscent of Magrites Le Modele Rouge) make up the cast of characters.

“You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, where they’re going and where they’ve been”.

-Mrs. Gump

Among the paintings is a public shoe donation bin. Visitors are encouraged to donate unwanted new or lightly used shoes. At the closing of the exhibition the shoes will be sent to Shoes For All, a non profit charity based in Albertson NY.

In the basement gallery is a single sculpture. Lunch Atop A Skyscraper reimagines the famous photo of the same name, with construction workers crafted from goatskin placed in various positions of Groucho Marx style hilarity.