Kathie Olivas, a New Mexico-based artist, explores fear and comfort in her custom toys and paintings. In a show currently running at Stranger Factory Gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the artist offers a new slew of paintings, assemblages, and toys. “Strange Days” runs through May 28 at the space. Through her series “The Misery Children,” the artist takes on “society’s insatiable desire to assign ‘cuteness’ and our discomfort with the unknown.”
“Through her current body of work she explores society’s insatiable desire to morph innocence with vulnerability and our discomfort with the unknown,” Stranger Factory says. “A dark blend of early American portraiture set in post apocalyptic times, her paintings and hand-made art toys are a satirical look at how fear and isolation affects our sense of reality.”
The venue is an offshoot of Circus Posterus, a brand and collective of artists and arts professionals that started 17 years ago. Olivas and Brandt Peters founded Circus Posterus. Olivas attended University of South Florida before settling in New Mexico and starting to exhibit across the world.
Travis Louie
Chris Berens