On Saturday, Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles will open highly anticipated side by side shows by Audrey Kawasaki, Tara McPherson, and Deedee Cheriel. The event marks Kawasaki’s first exhibition in over three years with the gallery, while McPherson and Cheriel previously exhibited together in 2012 (covered here), bringing a unique female perspective. Where their past showing followed a lyrical narrative, this new pairing explores themes of life and emotional experience as far reaching as the cosmos.
“A Tiny Universe Created with Every Teardrop” by Tara McPherson
McPherson’s show, “Supernova”, portrays celestial heroines with a starry-eyed awe and tranquility. An essential part of life, the element of water has long been an important part of her storytelling. “A Tiny Universe Created with Every Teardrop” gives us a second glance at her watery portrait, “Wanderlust” (2013), whose tears float towards the heavens. Kawasaki also employs fantasy elements in her exhibition “Hirari Hirari”, suggested by her nude “Mizuki”, draped in the feathers of a fiery bird. Her painting brings to mind Osamu Tezuka’s science fiction Phoenix, a metaphorical story of rebirth and immortality set in the universe.
Cheriel compliments these concepts with “In Search for More Than Another Shiny Object”, a symbolic new series of her anthropomorphic characters. Cheriel’s bird headed subjects travel from piece to piece in Egyptian god-like poses and Indian folk art patterns that makeup her signature style. Her titles like “There are Shadows, I May Bring Light” and “Where There is Doubt, I May Bring Faith” point to her search for positivity and enlightenment where there is little hope. Together, this latest offering by established female artists in their genre feels connected by the bigger picture- an inspired vision of life and what lies beyond.
Audrey Kawasaki, Tara Mcpherson, and Deedee Cheriel exhibit at Merry Karnowsky gallery from August 2 through August 30, 2014.
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