Young Kansas City based artist Mikey Yates, whose ‘Summer Walker’ is a standout at The Hole’s current night-themed group exhibition, paints tranquil scenes that include a family making art together at the dining room table and women chatting at night on a rooftop. Such scenes – whether populated by solitary people or multiple individuals – argue the pleasures and importance of domestic life. Though the individual in this painting walks alongside a highway in relative isolation, light from the streetlamp, a yellow hydrant and glowing neon sign in the distance create a sense of well-being and purpose. (On view through Feb 18th).
Mikey Yates, Summer Walker, oil, acrylic and oil stick on canvas, 40 x 30 inches, 2022.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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